Stars and Skies
by FrayGray
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia and Wendy Marvell set out on a journey to better themselves to be able to fight their own demons. Sick of always getting caught, these mages feel they have something to prove. But when the season changes, instincts take hold that could lead to everyone's undoing. NaLU, RoWen, MiraXus, GaLe (Gruvia & Jerza) I do not own Fairy Tail!***
1. Chapter 1

I stared up at the stars, feeling restless like most other nights I've tried to fall sleep recently. Sleeping hasn't been an easy feat over the last couple weeks and has only grown progressively worse each night. I turn over to see my partner, Wendy Marvell, with a look of discomfort on her face. She's at least asleep, but the sky dragon slayer looks as if she is being plagued with her own intrusive dreams.

We are currently lying outside, having just completed a mission, but we have no intention of returning to the guild anytime soon. Carla has been the only guild member in contact, being the one picking up missions for us and bringing them out to wherever we happen to be camped out. I figure we will see the white exceed sometime around noon tomorrow. Master Makarov had initially been hesitant over the arrangement but had finally relented over mine and Wendy's determination. We both felt we had something to prove…

I turned over to my other side and pulled up the blanket that had been loosely hanging over my body. It wasn't helping that we were lying on some rocky terrain, seeing as we had just finished a job in a small mountain village. I sighed, knowing that I would be as quick-tempered in the morning as I had been lately. Of course, Wendy was always understanding and didn't take my short fuse personally. We had actually grown closer than we ever had been during our time with Team Natsu, having now been solo partners over the past several months and bonding over our own insecurities and newfound purpose.

But it wasn't the stony landscape or the night's chill that had me out of sorts, it was my racing thoughts and thundering heartbeat—I was almost surprised it hadn't awakened Wendy with her dragon-senses. It felt like something was missing from my body—or was it my soul? Of course not, that sounded ridiculous. This sleep deprivation was really becoming a giant pain.

Then, as it always happens, the image that used to bring tears to my eyes flashed across my mind. The moment I had left Natsu; when Wendy and I were no longer his teammates.

"But why Lucy?" he had asked with a pained expression.

"You have no right to ask me that after leaving with Happy for a year!" I retorted, feeling my anger towards him—no I had just become angry with myself by that point.

Natsu's frown deepened, causing me to internally sigh and feel guilty over leaving my best friend behind, even though he had done it to me first.

"Fine!" he retorted with his own angry impulse flaring. "Just leave Fairy Tail behind why don't you?!"

Natsu stormed off, despite Erza and Gray both giving him death stares. Of course, they both already knew about Wendy's and mine decision to take time away from the guild and more or less understood our reasoning, despite not fully agreeing with it. But they also knew we weren't truly separating from Fairy Tail, we just needed time to prove ourselves.

"Ready Lucy?" Wendy's voice chimed from the front entrance of the guild.

I already had my suitcase beside me and had just been waiting here for Wendy to show up.

"LUCY!" Happy cried as he flew into me from where he had been standing worriedly with Carla.

Trying to convince Carla to stay behind had proven an almost impossible task, but she had finally relented on the compromise that she was to be our messenger for having contact with Fairy Tail. I looked over to see that she was having her last private moment with Wendy as the bluenette crushed Carla against her chest in a hug.

"Don't worry Happy, I'll be back before you know it," I said, but the smile I cracked was mostly out of humour for the blue exceed.

We both knew I would be gone a lot longer that I had ever been before.

"I'll miss you Lucy!" Happy cried, still wrapping his little paws around me.

I buried my face into the top of his head and sighed, I had known leaving was never going to be easy.

"Keep an eye on him, will you?" I asked, knowing he understood my meaning.

"Aye, sir," Happy replied, still emotional but was now being led away by Lily who also had Carla in tow.

"We'll be here waiting for you when you get back. Can't wait to see how much stronger your magic powers get," Gray said, being the most understanding out of everyone.

I could always count on Gray to be the most accommodating, at least when Natsu wasn't involved. I hugged him and was thankful that he was still wearing a shirt, but that was probably because it was still fairly early in the morning.

"Love rival!" Juvia shrieked, pulling me out of Gray's embrace.

I was surprised at how forward she was being but was completely shocked when instead of trying to initiate some sort of confrontation, she gave me her own farewell embrace.

"Good luck Lucy," she whispered in a solemn voice.

I nodded, not trusting my reaction to this surprise display of affection from the water mage.

"Oh Lu, I still can't believe you and Wendy are leaving!" Levy came up from behind me and flung herself into my arms that were still open from where Juvia had just been standing.

"It's only for a little while," I tried to reassure her in a comforting tone.

Levy had become such a dear friend in the time I had been at Fairy Tail, it was really difficult to leave her and the others behind.

"Take care of yourself," Erza said, who was now standing beside Levy.

Erza had an authoritative voice that told me she would be worried—but that was the entire point Wendy and I were leaving.

But, as intimidating as Erza was being, I knew her well enough to assume it was an act to hide her real emotions. This was further confirmed when she placed a small parcel into my hand, laying her hand on top of mine for a moment before standing back and waving me goodbye. I then turned around and headed towards Wendy who was quickly brushing off tears from her eyes, trying to put on a brave face. It looked like Romeo had just told her good-bye and was also trying to keep his emotions in check. I turned around one last time with my suitcase in hand, waving at everyone and was disappointed when I didn't see any trace of pink hair.

"We better be on our way," Wendy said, grabbing my hand into hers and leading me outside the guildhall.

She kept her hand in mine in a friendly gesture all the way to the train station. I let the gesture give me some form a reassurance that we were doing the right thing. I only hoped I was giving Wendy the same amount of comfort.

That had been nine months ago.


	2. Chapter 2

"Good morning!" a fairly chipper Wendy greeted as she walked over to where I was preparing some food.

"Hey," I said, trying to not be such an ogre about not getting enough sleep.

"You know, I could cast a sleeping spell on you," Wendy said, already knowing that I was still tired.

"Maybe at some point, I was kind of hoping to see if it just sorts itself out," I said with a shrug before handing her an apple and a protein bar.

This had become our regular morning meal.

"Alright, well let me know if you change you mind," she said in her sing-songy voice.

"Did you sleep okay? It looked like maybe you were dreaming last night," I replied, remembering the odd look Wendy had had while she slept.

"Hmm… now that you mention it, I have been having some pretty funny dreams," she replied before opening the wrapper on her bar and began chewing.

I didn't get the chance for any follow up questions before we heard the sound of something in the treetops. We both looked up and were surprised to see Carla finding us this early.

"Carla!" Wendy greeted the exceed that landed beside her owner—friend? Guildmate? I have no idea what Carla is considered to be.

Natsu always just calls Happy his little buddy.

The sudden thought of Natsu sends a pang of guilt and something else that I can't describe. I just huff to myself and begin eating my own apple. I can't let thoughts of Natsu weigh me down. The whole point of this journey is so that I won't need to depend on Natsu or the others.

"This looks good!" Wendy said after she finished her bar and read the flyer.

"What's the job?" I asked, already packing my things to be able to leave once Carla started her journey back.

Carla never made a fuss, even though most of our jobs were now pretty far away from Magnolia. Wendy and I had decided we didn't want the temptation of calling others for help when jobs got difficult or put us in a tight spot.

"I got there before Mirajane or even the master arrived at the guildhall yesterday. I wanted to make sure I got to you earlier today than I normally do," Carla explained in her haughty voice.

"Thanks Carla, but who approved the mission?" I asked, trying to think of how Carla would be able to bring us this new job without anyone's approval.

"Oh, Mira told me before that I could take any job on the board since they were all within your training class," Carla continued with an audible clip in her tone.

I then watched as the exceed looked over at Wendy who was packing her own things away. Our unspoken agreement was that we didn't ask about anything at the guild if Carla didn't try and convince us—and by us, I mean Wendy—to come back.

"We'll let you know once we are close to finishing this one, but it looks like this job is taking us even farther out. Another two days by train once we get passed the mountains," Wendy said.

I could tell Carla was upset to be already done her job and to now be heading out on another day's journey back to Magnolia. Seeing her reaction every time was enough to gather what our absence was probably doing to the rest of our friends; but the uncontained voice in my head wondered if maybe Natsu and the others had gotten over it and went back to how it was before Wendy or I joined the guild. I mean, we were still two of its newest members besides Gajeel, Juvia and Kinana.

"Thanks again Carla, we will see you in a little while!" Wendy said in her still cheery voice.

It had been almost three months before Wendy wouldn't cry at the sight of Carla leaving, but the sky dragon slayer had since worked on what she had come out here to do; get stronger.

We waved at Carla who was no longer looking in our direction as she headed out in the opposite direction. We both then grabbed our bags and set out towards the mountain path which would bring us to the next town; there we would catch the train.

"So, what do we have to do for this job?" I asked Wendy who had tucked the flyer into her bag for safekeeping.

"It sounds really cool, it says that the town is being controlled by a devil or something," she said in a much too cheerful voice for what she was saying.

"What?!" I asked, taken aback by her statement.

"Come on Lucy, it can't be a real devil. It's probably a curse or something cast over the town. At the very worst it's a demon or something," Wendy said with a shrug.

"Yea, I guess you're right, I've never heard of there being such thing as a devil on Earthland," I agreed. "I mean Gray is a demon slayer and Mira uses demon particles for her she-devil form, but I've never heard of an actual devil or anything."

"Plus, I think that maybe we are ready for something new like this. Hopefully it'll give us a challenge," Wendy added.

I nodded before going into deep thought.

"You are definitely increasing your strength with your dragon attacks. Plus, you've unlocked a few more of your secret arts," I said confidently, showing my pride for her.

"Yea, we can also perform unison raid together a lot easier and you've really enhanced your hand-to-hand combat using your whip," Wendy added with her own sense of pride.

"It is nice to know that our decision is actually paying off," I said with more confidence, but still felt a tug somewhere from the pit of my stomach.

"Yea, I think we can definitely fight for ourselves now. We haven't needed anyone over the last nine months," Wendy added. "Are you thinking about wanting to go back?"

I paused, considering what Wendy was asking me. This is the first time we had ever discussed going back to Fairy Tail since we had left.

"What do you think Wendy? I mean, do you feel like our magic powers have really increased that much? I haven't even been using my star dress that much. We've really only been focused on our dual attacks and hand-to-hand combat. I mean, do you think we are really on Gray and Natsu's level?" I asked with self-doubt.

It was now Wendy's turn to pause and mull over what I was saying.

"I really do think we have increased our magic power. So, why don't we go on this job, see what we are up against and how easily we take care of it, and then we can discuss what we want to do once we're finished," Wendy suggested.

"Yea, I think that sounds good. I don't know if I'm convinced about my skills yet. But hey, if we do meet a devil and can take it out, maybe we are good enough to go back," I said, feeling more excited about this job now.

It had been a long thought-out decision between Wendy and I to separate ourselves from Team Natsu and venture out on our own away from the guild. But, after watching Natsu go off for a year and come back even more powerful than he had before, I had questioned what it would be like once we went back out on jobs. Of course, Wendy and I had both initially agreed to rejoin Natsu and the others once Fairy Tail got back together, but I had had a gnawing thought about always getting caught and the others saving me. One night, a few months after our team had reformed, Wendy had asked me what was wrong. I had confided in her about my insecurities, and was surprised to find she felt the same way. Carla was always reprimanding her, not to mention that she felt she always let everyone down. This had put our plan in motion as we considered going on our own journey. We told our teammates the following month.


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu's P.O.V

"But why Lucy?" I asked, feeling a sense of pain pierce through my stomach.

"You have no right to ask me that after leaving with Happy for a year!" she retorted, obviously angry with my childish response.

I couldn't help it… how could I live without her? I know I had gone off with Happy for a year, and she should be entitled to her own adventure, but now it felt different.

"Fine!" I shouted back at her, not being able to contain my angry impulse. "Just leave Fairy Tail behind why don't you?"

I then turned around and stormed off towards the back of the guildhall and through the back door. I felt ragged and realised that my face was wet from the tears I hadn't noticed forming. I punched the stone wall, not being able to contain my own frustration—mostly with myself. Why was I having such an issue with Lucy and Wendy leaving. Of course, it was a give-in that we would all miss them, but I felt this surge of energy that wanted me to prevent her from going.

I looked up to see the crumbled brick that had bore the affects from my outrage. Then I noticed the fire escape and started to climb up. It was still quite early as I saw the sun just starting to reflect over Magnolia's port once I stepped onto the roof of the guildhall. Even though it looked like it was going to be a cheerful sort of day, my energy had all but evaporated and I felt drained. Maybe Juvia would get just as upset as me later on and it would start to rain, that would seem appropriate.

I heard the guild door shut and looked down to see Wendy holding Lucy's hand and leading her towards the direction of the train station. I felt the sudden urge to call out to Lucy, beg her to stay, but I knew it would only make her more upset. I knew her and Wendy had carefully thought this through and had come to the conclusion that this excursion of theirs was necessary. The tightening in my stomach worsened and I wrapped my arms around myself to try and will the pain to stop.

It must have been because of my sudden spiral into misery and the shooting pain I felt that I didn't pick up on his presence until he was already on the roof and approaching where I was sitting.

"What do you want ice princess?" I barked, already annoyed by Gray's presence.

He only sighed and sat beside me, the only time I could ever remember him not arguing against me and starting a fight. Too bad, I could really use an outlet and something to punch.

"You should have seen them off," Gray said simply.

He sounded sadder than he had downstairs and then I realized that maybe he was less supportive than he had shown about the two of our teammates going off on their own.

"I watched them go," I replied in a much quieter voice than I normally used.

Gray sighed again and continued sitting beside me in silence.

"I didn't realize how much you were against it," I said, still surprised by how sad I was sensing Gray being at the moment.

"There was no stopping them, you know that," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Yea, I know," I responded, feeling exasperated even further about the situation.

Lucy and Wendy hadn't really given any sort of timeframe, but I worried it would be at least a year that they would be gone. The first time they had mentioned it, they had compared their intention to when I had gone away. I had also been surprised at how much the girls must have collaborated before they had brought it up to the group. By that time, their minds had been made up.

The days seemed to drag on after that, each one blending in with the next. I noticed that Gray always seemed to be nearby somewhere, never letting me alone with my thoughts for long. It was kind of annoying, but maybe he felt lonely as well. Happy was also a little less, well happy, as we all carried on without the two girls. Natsu didn't know how long it had been by this point, but it seemed to be almost a year. He only knew this because it had been spring when Wendy and Lucy left and now he could sense it in the air that it was almost winter.

"Hey Natsu, want to go on a quest today?" Romeo asked his teammate.

After Lucy and Wendy had left the two guys had become even closer. They had both felt a sense of loss and loneliness without their usual partners at the guild.

"Uh, sure Romeo, why don't you go ask Gray if he's too busy to join us. I'm just going to sit down for a bit," Natsu said sounding exhausted.

Winter always seemed to make Natsu feel sluggish, but this time seemed even worse.

"What is it Natsu? Is something wrong?" Romeo asked, showing concern for his friend.

"Yea, it's probably nothing. I just haven't been able to sleep very well for the past couple nights and I have these pains in my stomach sometimes," Natsu explained.

He couldn't help remembering the last time he had felt like this, about nine months ago.

"What's going on fire breath?" Gray asked, coming over to the two guys who were sitting at one of the booths.

Gray had seen the look of concern across Romeo's face while Natsu was looking like he was in some sort of pain.

"I'm fine winter pixie," Natsu retorted with some effort. "Romeo says he wants to go on a quest."

"I think maybe we better try again tomorrow, I don't want to have to carry your sorry butt, and it's not fair to Happy if he has to fly you all the way to the mission," Gray said, trying to assess Natsu without being obvious.

The truth was, Team Natsu had sort of disbanded once the girls had left. Erza was often on S class missions that Natsu was sure Jellal was a part of. Lucy and Wendy had really left their mark being away so long, not that he wanted to blame them. Lucy had tried to explain it to them before they left; she had been tired of always needing to be saved. He and the rest had tried to convince them that they were wrong, that they had both earned their places in both the guild and their team, but they remained unconvinced.

"NATSU! Did you try and take another S class mission?" Master Makarov shouted from across the guildhall.

"What are you talking about Gramps? I just got here," Natsu retorted, confused this time as to why he was being reprimanded.

He couldn't remember breaking any rules in the last hour or so.

"There's a flyer missing from the board that I haven't approved and I just got a message that the task needed to be upgraded to an S class mission," Makarov explained seriously.

"Seriously gramps, I didn't take it," Natsu said, hoping the yelling would stop since it wasn't helping his newly formed headache.

"Why did it get upgraded anyway?" Gray asked curiously.

"Well, apparently there has been confirmation of some sort of evil presence. The locals are naming it a devil, and until anyone can confirm what it is we have to proceed with extreme caution," the master replied.

Just then, there was a gasp from the door as everyone looked over to see a horrified looking Carla.

"What is it Carla?" Happy asked in a concerned tone.

"Th-that's th-the job I just gave to Wendy and Lucy," she stuttered, looking as if she would faint.

"What?!" Makarov asked, looking horror-struck that those two should encounter such a fate on their own.

"Oh, no! It's all my fault master. I thought each of the jobs were ranked accordingly and told Carla she should take any one of them," Mira gasped, holding her hands up to her mouth.

"It sounded more difficult and the girls have requested I bring them more challenging jobs," Carla continued while Happy held onto her consolingly.

She was probably too distraught to even know he was there.

"Wendy?!" Romeo shouted, feeling his magical powers surge in anticipation for a fight.

"Lucy?!" Natsu added, forgetting temporarily about his pain and exhaustion.

"We have to stop them!" Gray chimed in, feeling his own concern for his friends.

"Calm down children!" Makarov shouted, watching as each of his children began to panic.

He surveyed the room and saw that Levy had a look of pure terror while Gajeel sat beside her with a menacing look. He knew Levy would be too emotional and Gajeel had been acting more surly than usual, probably not the best candidates to go after the two girls. His gaze then looked onto Gray and Natsu, their old teammates. The two men did make the most sense but they weren't S-class, even though they had completed an S class mission before, not to mention countless other life-threatening situations, but Erza was out on her own mission. He worried about how they would react if either of the girls were in true danger without Erza to guide them. Plus, he knew he wold have a difficult time convincing Romeo to stay behind, especially with the bond he had noticed had formed between the younger fire mage and the sky dragon slayer. This left his attention to turn to Laxus who was the only one who hadn't outwardly reacted. The rest of the Thunder Legion were out of town on business but this caused the master to look slightly to Laxus' left noticing Mira behind the bar. Sending two S-class wizards might be the perfect answer. Especially if there was a devil, sending Fairy Tail's very own she-devil may be exactly the right move. But before he could voice his decision, there was a cry of pain coming from the other side of the guild.

Makarov looked up to see that Natsu had fallen out of his seat and was clutching his stomach in pain. Romeo was knelt down beside him while Lisanna had run over to see what was wrong as well.

The master had known Natsu hadn't been fairing very well with the absence of his two teammates, but how could this have anything to do with it? Maybe he had just eaten something wrong—Mavis knows that boy eats everything.

"Lisanna. Romeo. Help Natsu up to the infirmary. Laxus, Mira, meet me in my office," Makarov ordered before taking his leave from the guild's common area.


	4. Chapter 4

It took us most of the day to reach the next town at the base of the far mountain. We were lucky enough to get on the last train that would carry us on the next leg of our journey.

"I'll take the top bunk," Wendy claimed as we got into our compartment.

Thankfully we had made enough money from the mission we just finished to be able to afford a bunk car.

"Sure thing, we won't arrive until tomorrow evening. I'm wiped after all our trekking today," I said, getting ready to lie down.

It didn't take long after we extinguished the lights that I heard Wendy's patterned breathing. I instantly felt jealous before I turned to look out at the stars. It was my decision for not taking Wendy up on her offer for the sleeping spell. I didn't really know why I was being so stubborn, plus I could use the sleep. I wanted to be ready for anything once we got to our mission.

Eventually I must have fallen into a fitful sleep. I was in a dream, standing in the guild where I could see all my friends. It brought a pang of emotion to my chest which reminded me just how much I missed everyone. I chuckled to see Gray was stripped down to just his pants and Juvia was staring at him with heart-shaped eyes. Thankfully Gray was still wearing his pants, even in my dreams I knew Juvia would yell at me for thinking about a stripped-down Gray. I shuddered at the thought of both. Next, I saw Levy huddled over a book. Jet and Droy were crowded around her like always, bringing back my smile. Gajeel was off to the side with Pantherlily, but only one table over from her. Did he always sit that close to Levy and look at her from a distance? It's weird to think I picked that up in my subconscious. I kept gazing around the guild and noticed most of everyone else. Erza was sitting at the counter with Cana and Lisanna, being tended to by Mira and Kinana. But where was… I heard an agonizing scream that made my body turn cold.

"NATSU?!" I shrieked, startling myself awake.

I sat up quickly, taking in my bearings. The scream I had heard seemed so real, but it's not like Natsu was actually here. Then I thought of Wendy.

I stood up and peered over the top of my bed to see that Wendy must have actually been the one to wake me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell," she said timidly, but with a frightened look on her face.

"Don't mention it, did you have a nightmare?" I asked, now remembering that Wendy might have had another nightmare like the previous night.

"Well…" Wendy started, obviously embarrassed by something. "I've actually been having similar dreams every night for the past several nights now."

I gave her a sympathetic look. It's weird, that seems to be when my restlessness started too.

"Ever since the season changed," Wendy explained further.

"What do you mean?" I asked, having not really been paying attention to the days passing by in a sort of mission-based blur.

"Well, two weeks ago was the start of winter," she continued.

"Hmm, is that normal?" I asked, feeling at a complete loss.

"I don't really know, but I just continue to dream about the same thing," she went on as I noticed a light blush form across her cheeks despite the nighttime darkness.

"What have you been dreaming about?" I asked curiously.

"Erm—Romeo," she replied, tilting her head down so she was no longer meeting my eyes.

"You miss him right, that makes sense," I said, wanting to put Wendy at ease.

She looked up and gave me a sheepish grin.

"Yea, I do really miss him. Do you miss Natsu?" she asked delicately.

I sighed. Wendy had brought up her suspicions about me liking Natsu before, but it wasn't something I willfully contemplated. I was still too angry at always being the one in danger while he was always the one to swoop in and save me. I didn't want to be saved anymore, so I couldn't bother thinking about what Wendy told me seemed pretty obvious.

"I miss everyone," I said, shrugging off Wendy's insinuation.

"So, what made you scream?" I asked, remembering why I was awake.

It hadn't been Natsu's scream that I heard but Wendy's.

"Well, I dreamt that Romeo was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear him. So, I ran after him, trying to catch up to him but he always seemed out of reach. Then I got this horrible pain in my stomach that felt like someone had stabbed me. When I looked up Romeo was gone, but maybe I was already awake by that point," she explained.

I frowned at my friend.

"Does your stomach still hurt?" I asked, looking down to make sure she wasn't in fact injured.

"No, it went away once I woke up. It was just so strange though, it felt so real," she said with a glimmer of fear in her expression.

I couldn't blame her, that sounded horrible. Plus, I couldn't help but remember thinking Natsu's scream had seemed so real and had sent chills down into my core. But that had just been Wendy…

"Why don't we try and go back to sleep," I suggested, seeing that Wendy's eyes were already getting droopy.

"Yea, I'll see you in the morning," Wendy said before turning over onto her other side and easily falling back into slumber.

I crawled back into my own bed and pulled up the covers.

It felt like Natsu's cries of pain were still ringing through my ears as I grabbed my pillow and brought it to the side of my head. Of course, this wasn't going to block out the imaginary cries, but I didn't know how else to stop them. I thought more about what Wendy had said about the seasons changing, but that really shouldn't have any effect on me since I wasn't a dragon slayer. And that was assuming Wendy was correct in her assumption since she didn't seem so confident about it herself. All she wanted as she started to fall into a listless sleep was the comforts of her abandoned apartment. A nice hot back to sooth her tense muscles from all the nights they had slept outside and something to keep her warm when falling asleep…


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu's P.O.V

Ugh, I feel like I swallowed Gray's nasty ice or something. I guess other people would describe it as their stomach being on fire, but that's just my regular meal. I don't know how else to describe it except that my insides are roiling in pain.

"Is he awake?" I heard the Master asking someone else who must also be in the room with us.

I inhaled the air to sense who else was here. I could smell Gray who seemed to be closest. Romeo, Happy and Gajeel were also here as well as Porlyusica and Gramps. I must have been brought up to the infirmary then if that Grandeeney lady is here.

"Yea, he's up," Gajeel stated with certainty.

I felt like growling at him as I opened my eyes in annoyance.

"Natsu!" Romeo exhaled in relief.

"How long was I out?" I asked, using my arms to push myself into a sitting position.

"One whole day Natsu," Happy answered in an anxious voice.

I raised my hands up and beckoned my little blue friend into my arms. I always hated making Happy worried or upset.

"A whole day? What the hell is wrong with me?" I asked out loud, surprised I had managed to stay asleep for so long.

I hadn't really been sleeping that great lately and usually only got a few hours here and there instead of sleeping the whole night through.

"Well, we've actually been doing some research," Master answered in his typical gruff voice. "It seems you've met your mate."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked feeling frustrated that Gramps' answer only brought about more questions.

"Do you ever feel sluggish in the winter Salamander?" Gajeel asked from where he was standing off to the side.

"Yea I guess… I noticed it started a few years ago but I never thought anything of it," I replied while absently scratching the back of my head.

"Well it seems it's something that only happens to us dragon slayers. Once we hit a certain age our instincts start looking for a mate. Once we find someone we like, our bodies react," Gajeel explained with his hands folded over his chest as he leaned against the wall.

"Ok… so what happens once we find someone we like?" I asked, feeling myself become interested despite my frustration.

"We mate them," Gajeel answered in an exasperated tone.

Master cleared his throat. "Yes, well we don't have all the specifics right now. Levy is currently down in the library trying to find more information. But Natsu, we have reason to believe that Lucy is your mate."

"Wait, Lucy? Is she okay?!" I remembered that her and Wendy had been out on an S class mission before I passed out.

"Yes, they're both fine. We sent Laxus and Mira out after them," Master replied trying to placate the fire dragon slayer.

"We have to go after them!" I replied angrily moving myself to stand up.

Once I got to my feet though I felt a rush of nausea causing me to falll back down onto the bed.

"Natsu!" Happy cried out.

"Hey man! Relax. Mira and Laxus have it under control," Gray said steadying me and making sure I didn't fall to the ground.

"You better be right Gray," I replied in a steely tone.

I shook my head, not quite understanding why I was reacting so harshly towards Gray. I knew Laxus and Mira were two of our best members. But somehow, I felt that if I managed to get to my feet that they would carry me straight to Lucy.

"Well Gramps, it looks as if you guessed right about bunny girl," Gajeel said still staring over at me.

Makarov sighed. The master had never heard of such a thing as dragon slayer mating until now. Honestly he felt that the less he knew about it the better. But when it threatened the wellbeing of his children he would do anything in his power to fix the situation. Plus, he was also concerned about Lucy and Wendy. He never liked the arrangement that Lucy and Wendy didn't come back to the guild to collect jobs, but he had seen the hurt in their eyes when they had pleaded their case to him. Makarov had thought putting his faith in the situation would bring both of his children back home to him safely. But his own oversight had led to this situation and all he could do now was wait for Laxus and Mira's status report once they arrived. Since the two of them had left early this morning they wouldn't make it until the following night. He also knew this meant that Lucy and Wendy would have already arrived, fronting whatever situation faced them right now.

Natsu was now put back haphazardly in the bed by Gray while Happy now sat beside his best friend.

"Wait, Gramps. If this is a dragon slayer thing, does that mean it affects Wendy and Laxus too?" I asked now that the nausea had subsided.

"I have to assume it does affect Wendy, but I have no way of confirming my suspicions of her mate or if she has been affected by this season's change. But I think I am safe in assuming that since you are only now feeling the full effects at this age, that she is fairing better. As for Laxus, he said he hadn't experienced anything like it so far, but we have no idea of knowing if he will go through the same process or not," Gramps answered despairingly.

"Hey Natsu, thank goodness you're awake," I looked up to see Levy enter the room.

I also noticed how Gajeel straightened up. If I was feeling better both physically and mentally I would have laughed at him. I guess Gajeel knew so much about this since he was going through the same thing. But then why wasn't he laying in a hospital bed as well?

"Levy have you found anything?" Master asked as he watched the bluenette enter the room.

"Yea, but this book is written about dragons since I don't actually think any book exists on dragon slayer magic," Levy explained.

By this point we knew that besides those like Cobra and Laxus who had consumed lacrimas, that there were only five true dragon slayers in existence.

"So, what does it say?" I asked, feeling my very little patience diminishing.

"Well, honestly, it doesn't look too good," Levy prefaced with a frown. "It says here that dragons experience what we call love differently. Apparently they have very few feelings for anyone romantically until they meet their mate and even then it can take a while for them to discover their true emotions. They might not be the appropriate age, or it says something about the seasons having to be right. Anyways, the book is a little unclear about that part, but I figure the author had to study dragons and not too many of them were willing to discuss such things with humans."

"So, what does this all have to do with me?" I asked impatiently.

I saw Gajeel step forward and gave me a very unforgiving look. I just shook my head to try and collect myself. Levy had done me a favour by looking all this up so I shouldn't lose my temper with her.

"Well, apparently once the dragon's age and interests line up with the seasonal change their instincts start to take over their body. But, if the mate were to leave before the dragon could claim them, then their instincts take hold of their mind which can lead them to insanity," Levy's frown deepened.

"Hold on Shrimp, are you saying that Salamander has been slowly losing his mind ever since Lucy left in the springtime?" Gajeel asked, surprisingly taken aback.

"I don't think so. I think the insanity thing only starts once the season changes, but it never clarified what season they meant," Levy explained exasperatedly.

"Winter," both Gajeel and I answered together.

"Oh," Levy blushed a little. "Well, that would make sense since winter just started a couple of weeks ago. And that would also explain why Natsu is now reacting so severely. Plus, it did mention that despite the insanity starting at the season's change that the dragon will also feel physical deficiencies before then."

Master grunted in agreeance. That made sense why Natsu had seemed so off for the past nine months. This new knowledge now only heightened the need to bring the girls back quickly.

"So, what will happen if Lucy doesn't come back soon?" Romeo asked worriedly for his friend.

"Erm—well that is also vague since I'm assuming the author didn't stick around that long when the dragon did start going insane, that would have been bad. But, it seems that there are a bunch of different factors like how long they have known their mate previously since that allows for them to subconsciously become more attached. And also if their mate is in some sort of danger, they can sense it somehow. I'm sorry Natsu, that's all I could find. But the good news is that once Lucy is home again the effects should subside a bit. It says that being near your mate has the ability to dampen the effects until the mating can take place," Levy finished explaining what she had found.

"Well, since we don't know very much else Natsu is now under surveillance until the girls return. I will update you once I hear back from Mira and Laxus. All we can do now is have faith that they will bring the girls back soon," Master frowned deeper.

"I'll stay with him for now," Gray offered since he was already sitting shirtless by Natsu's bedside.

"I don't need a babysitter," I huffed indignantly.

"Yea, well until bunny girl gets back we aren't taking any chances that you might go on some homicidal rampage," Gajeel retorted.

Natsu could tell he was being even more protective since Levy was in the room. He wondered if Gajeel had figured it all out for himself yet.

"Please Natsu…" I looked down to see Happy's eyes brimming with tears.

I sighed and nodded before flopping back down onto my pillow. The truth was my head was pounding and I felt more exhausted than I ever had before.

"Just wake me up when Lucy gets back," I said and watched Gray nod before I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Laxus' P.O.V

The old man sure was being secretive about this mission. I knew there was something he was holding back, but I had learned a long time ago not to question his decisions. I knew there was a good reason he was leaving something out at the briefing.

I had my rucksack thrown over my shoulder as I headed back to the guild. I couldn't remember ever working with Mirajane as a partner before. Of course, I had seen her in action and had worked with her as part of a team, but never on a solo mission.

I had requested that we leave first thing since I didn't want anymore sappy good-byes from Freed and the others. The Thunder Legion tended to get sensitive whenever I left, not that I could really blame them after I was kicked out of the guild at one point.

"Hey Laxus, are you ready?" I heard a voice ask from the woman I now spotted standing off to the side.

The guildhall wasn't even open this early so Mirajane was waiting outside. Despite the early hour she seemed as chipper as ever waiting with a small bag slung around her shoulder.

"Of course, I am. I want to make sure we catch the first train out," I replied bluntly.

She responded with her usual giggle and dimpled smile before following in the direction of the train station.

"I'm honestly surprised Salamander is letting us go instead of him blazing on ahead," I broke the silence after the station came into view.

I looked over to see Mira had bowed her head slightly, looking concerned.

"I honestly don't think he has enough strength to make it on the three-day journey. Gray hasn't left his bedside and when I spoke to him yesterday when I brought everyone in the infirmary their lunch, Gray said that Natsu's madness was already starting," Mira explained in a sad voice.

I frowned. Natsu had always been a pain growing up. He joined the guild only a few months after Gray, all those years ago, and it had been enough to put me on permanent edge. But the truth was that I had gotten over myself and all my previous hatred in the past few years. I knew that Natsu and the others always had my back again and again. I also noticed the change in Natsu once Lucy joined the guild. They quickly became inseparable and he obviously cared for her.

I shook my head. Man, I must be losing my nerve if I was actually jealous of that idiot. What must it be like to care for someone so deeply that it would plunge me into madness if I became separated from them?

"Well, I figure I owe the fire-breather. Plus, no one kidnaps a Fairy Tail wizard and get's away with it. Let's go bring Lucy and Wendy home," I said, also noticing the smile form across Mira's face.

Out of everyone at the guild, Mira was always the person I found the most interesting. Growing up she was almost as intimidating as I was. Her and Erza's rivalry was way more intense that Natsu and Gray's. But, after Lisanna 'died' it took a toll on her and she turned into this motherly sort, always looking out for everyone. She definitely toned down the edginess that had previously driven her. But I knew that she-devil was still inside her and that she even liked the demon take-over if it meant saving any one in our family. I guess if I was ever going to have feelings like Natsu has for Lucy, I would want it to be someone like Mira.

I shook my head.

_"What the hell Dryer, keep it together!" _I chastised myself internally and felt thankful that we were finally at the train station.

"You don't look so well, maybe you should get some sleep. We do have a long way to go," Mira said kindly, looking at me with concern once we were on the train.

"You sure?" I asked, feeling badly since leaving this early had been my idea.

"Of course, we still have quite a ways to go and I want to make sure you feel well rested once we get there," Mira smiled back.

Without anymore pushback, I let myself close my eyes and fall asleep to the soothing motion of the train.

I woke up sometime later to the noise of someone moving around me.

"Oh sorry, did I wake you?" Mira asked, taking her place across from me.

"No, it's alright," I replied, and accepted the bottle of water she was holding out for me.

"You were mumbling in your sleep so I figured I would give you some privacy," Mira said kindly.

"What was I talking about?" I asked, feeling embarrassed since I didn't remember what I had dreamt about.

"Oh, I couldn't understand you but it wasn't my place to pry. I figured you might be thirsty when you woke up though," she explained.

I continued to stare at her as I opened the bottle of water and took a sip.

"You know, you sure have changed a lot since we were kids," I admitted again but this time out loud.

She only grinned and closed her own bottle.

"I could say the same to you," she replied.

We paused for several more minutes while I continued to look at Mira curiously and she gazed out the window.

"So, this whole mating thing, it hasn't happened to you yet?" Mira asked after a while, causing me to be taken aback.

"Jeez, I don't know. I don't feel homicidal if that's what you're asking," I replied, having secretly been wondering the same thing.

I mean, winter was always a weird season but I didn't think that was uncommon amongst most people who felt they had less energy in the winter. Aside from that, there wasn't too much more we knew about the signs of dragon mating.

Mira continued to smile and tilted her head.

"Maybe that just means your mate is close by," she said sweetly.

"Hm," I replied, not liking how much I sounded like the old man.

But I didn't have anything to say to her comment. I mean, wasn't it was the reason Natsu hadn't gone mad before this? Lucy was usually nearby or maybe he hadn't figured it out before now. Knowing Natsu, it was likely the latter.

It was annoying how little we knew about all of this. How was I supposed to know if the lacrima that gave me my powers would have the same effects? And we didn't even know how it was truly affecting Gajeel and Wendy either.

I huffed and closed my eyes again while Mira continued to smile and look out the window. The sooner we got this job over with the better. But then again, that would mean I wouldn't have an excuse to be around Mira near as much.


	7. Chapter 7

"We're here Wendy," I said nudging her awake.

She had slept for most of the trip due to her ongoing motion sickness.

"Alright," Wendy moaned as she got a hold of herself enough to stand and exit the train.

"Is this it?" I asked once we were outside.

The train station was only a small, dilapidated platform with one weathered kiosk in the center. We certainly weren't anywhere that got many visitors.

"Are you the wizards from Fairy Tail?" we looked over to see a short, squat looking man with glasses jogging towards us.

He stopped briefly to catch his breath while we walked over to meet him.

"Yup, I'm Lucy and this is Wendy. We received your flier two days ago but had to make the trek out here," I explained to him.

"Yes, we are a ways away from Magnolia, so I am very grateful that you made the journey out," he said appreciatively.

"It's no problem," Wendy replied with a smile now that she had collected herself.

"May I invite you two ladies back to my house so I can explain the mission more in depth?" the squat man asked as he took a handkerchief out to wipe the sweat off his brow.

"Of course, but may we ask who you are?" I inquired since he still hadn't introduced himself.

"Oh, how foolish of me, my name is Levi Dhell. I'm the town's mayor," he replied kindly.

"It's nice to meet you sir. Lead the way!" Wendy replied before we followed the mayor off the crumbling platform.

"Is this the town?" I asked uneasily, looking around at the humble looking cottages that were seemingly abandoned.

"Where is everyone?" Wendy asked, feeling on edge.

"Yes well, there aren't too many people left who are brave enough to stay. I fear to say that those remaining are only those too poor to be able to leave themselves," Mayor Dhell admitted, wiping more sweat from his brow.

"That's terrible!" I gasped, looking over the desolate village.

I still hadn't seen anyone so those that the mayor was mentioning were most likely keeping indoors.

We soon arrived at the centre of town at a building that was only slightly bigger than the other cottages. Everything in this town was humble in size constructed seemingly out of need than extravagance.

"We do have food of our own, we don't want to put you out or anything," I said as the mayor led us inside to a bare room with only four chairs and a table inside.

It looked like there was a small kitchen in the back and a closed door that was most likely a bedroom. Being the mayor didn't seem to afford any extra commodities.

"Don't be ridiculous, the least I can do is offer you tea," he explained before leaving to put on a pot of tea in the kitchen.

Wendy and I sat beside each other in a pair of worn, mismatched chairs. We stayed quiet but looked at each other with wary gazes. How was it that such an unassuming town had such a dangerous issue?

The mayor came bumbling back minutes later with a tray of tea cups.

"Thank-you very much," Wendy and I said as we each accepted a cup.

"No, it's I who should be thanking you. I am so fortunate that two strong wizards such as yourselves answered my flier. The reward isn't enough for something so dangerous. That's why I haven't reached out before now to an official guild. But with most of the town displaced, I must admit I'm desperate," the mayor confessed nervously.

"We're not worried about the reward Mr. Dhell. We are happy to help without you having to worry about such things," Wendy replied earnestly.

I nodded. It was easier to agree to such a thing now that I didn't have any rent to pay.

"So, what has the whole town so distraught anyway? The flier said something about a devil, but I've never heard of such a thing," I said with a frown.

"Yes, well I've never actually seen it for myself, but I know it comes out at night and hunts down the townspeople," the mayor trembled.

"Hunts them down?" I asked, feeling even more uneasy.

"Yes, many of the townspeople have reported to me that this thing breaks into their homes and mercilessly recruits individuals of his choosing for his 'legion'," the mayor explained, perspiring even more.

"Legion?" Wendy asked worriedly.

This was sounding worse and worse with each detail and nothing like we had seen before on our excursion. What was this horrible creature explicitly hunting down defenceless townspeople?

"Yes, the survivors always explain that the creature states he wants these people for his legion. Then he points at them and they're consumed by some sort of shadow. After that, no one ever sees them again," the mayor explained more gravely.

He was ghostly white now. I felt sick to my stomach and assumed Wendy felt the same way looking at her fearful expression. I looked out the window and noticed that the sun was already setting.

"Right. So this leaves us with only one option. We must go out into the village and protect the village from this devil creature," I said with a new resolve.

There was no way we could back down from something like this, where people were disappearing and had no way of defending themselves.

"So, you'll take the job?!" the mayor exclaimed.

"Of course, we're Fairy Tail wizards. It would give the guild a bad rep if we refused now," I replied confidently.

Wendy stood up as well.

"That's right. We'll do everything we can to help your town Mr. Dhell," Wendy added.

"That's wonderful! Thank-you so much!" the mayor responded unabashedly.

"We just ask that you stay indoors. We'll come find you when everything is over," I said, feeling he would only get in the way and that we could protect everyone better if they remained indoors.

"Of course! It's no secret that I'm useless in defending everyone," the mayor admitted.

Wendy and I nodded in agreeance before exiting the mayor's home. We were already in the center of town which was helpful, and it looked like there were only two main roads that intersected nearby. The town's small size would definitely help, and I figured we needed every advantage if we were going to have a shot at ridding this town of whatever was lurking at night.

"I have a bad feeling Lucy," Wendy said, not hiding the shiver running down her spine.

"I know, I feel it too," I agreed. "But we can't lose our nerve now."

"Right!" Wendy agreed.

We took advantage of the last remaining daylight to survey the few streets in town before returning back to the center. I then watched as the sun disappeared and the moon brightened above us.

"Do you feel that?" Wendy asked shakily.

"Yea, it's like something just appeared in town with incredible magic power," I responded uneasily.

"Do you think something like this could actually be some sort of devil?" Wendy asked in a whispered tone.

"I honestly have no idea," I replied shakily.

I suddenly wished that Natsu and the others were here with us for backup. But, then I shook my head. This is exactly the reason we left Fairy Tail in the first place. Maybe if we somehow pulled this off I would finally feel ready to go back. There was no way I was going to turn my back now and I still needed to prove to myself that I didn't need saving.


	8. Chapter 8

Gray's P.O.V

"Ahhhh!"

I woke up from the sudden screaming in the room. I was sitting at Natsu's bedside and had only let myself doze off for a moment.

I still hadn't left Natsu's bedside since Master ordered someone to stand guard but noticed Erza was also here. She must have just returned from her most recent job and was mostly likely already filled in by Gramps on the situation.

Erza was standing beside Natsu looking concerned but also had her guard up. I didn't blame her since Natsu had just woken up screaming with a crazed look in his eye.

"She's in trouble! I have to help her! HE'S GOING TO KILL HER!" Natsu shouted trying to fight against Erza to be let out of bed.

I heard several people run into the room but couldn't look up since I was helping Erza restrain Natsu.

"Laxus and Mira are bringing them back man, you just have to hang on," I tried to reason with him but he looked as if he couldn't even hear me.

"LET ME GO!" Natsu shouted before violently thrashing around to throw the both of us off.

"Keep him restrained!" Porlyusica ordered from somewhere nearby.

"Ice make, restraints!" I said as I momentarily took my hands off Natsu to make ice restraints which stuck him to the bed.

However, Natsu responded by engulfing his wrists and ankles in fire. His eyes looked even more wild and I figured he couldn't even see the room anymore around him. All he could see was Lucy and whatever vision the insanity was showing him.

Thankfully my restraints gave Porlyusica enough time to inject Natsu with whatever medicine she wanted to give him. I threw my hands back over Natsu to keep him pinned down since he was successfully melting my ice magic away. I didn't know how much longer Erza and I could keep this up, even though Erza already requipped into her fire empress armour. Natsu's eyes were mostly black as he fought against us, but a few moments later I realised Porlyusica gave him a sedative. Natsu's eyelids fluttered and his force against us lessened before he crashed back down onto the bed.

"Hm," Gramps grunted from the doorway.

"We'll have to keep him sedated from now on," Porlyusica stated severely.

"What did he mean that _he _was going to kill her?" I asked, allowing myself to fall back into the chair behind me.

"I'm afraid that Natsu actually did see whatever Lucy and Wendy are facing," Levy said in a worried tone.

"What do you mean Shrimp? How would he be able to see something hundreds of miles away?" Gajeel asked casting his glance over towards the now unconscious Natsu.

I realised that Gajeel was always here whenever Levy was, including when it was Levy's turn for guarding Natsu. I figured that maybe Levy was Gajeel's mate in this whole thing but I was too tired to think about it much more than that. I hadn't slept properly over the last few days and probably wouldn't until Lucy and Wendy returned.

"Well, I read the book more in depth and it seems like if a dragon slayer's mate is in any real danger that it opens some sort of telepathic link. I'm not positive but I think Natsu can see through Lucy's mind's eye. Unfortunately, with the madness sinking in I think Lucy being in danger is only speeding up the process and Natsu is in no frame of mind to be able to tell us what's going on," Levy frowned and I could hear her voice quiver.

I clenched my fists at the thought of Lucy and Wendy facing off against whatever Natsu had just seen.

"When will Laxus and Mira arrive to help them?" Erza asked in her authoritative voice.

"Not until tomorrow morning," Gramps answered with a deep frown.

"Those idiots, what were they thinking getting themselves into such a situation on their own," Porlyusica said while gathering more medicinal supplies for Natsu.

"All we can do now is put our faith in all of them that my four children come back to us safely," Gramps replied, but his voice wavered.

Despite Natsu's madness, his reaction to whatever he saw was disheartening. Natsu was always the one who put his faith in the guild and now he was screaming about Lucy, and probably Wendy, being killed despite their advanced skills.

We had all survived dragons and demons and many other impossible enemies. So, what on Earthland could have Natsu so worried that Lucy and Wendy couldn't survive on their own?


	9. Chapter 9

"Lucy, I know we went on this trip to become stronger… but I'm scared," Wendy whispered in a hoarse voice.

I looked over to my partner and could see the fear reflected in her expression.

"Fear is not the same as being weak," I replied, remembering what Natsu always said about learning from your fear.

Wendy nodded as we looked around the center square where we were standing. The sudden arrival of such a large amount of magical power had us on edge.

"No one is coming to back us up, so we have to make sure to win this one for Fairy Tail on our own," I said evenly.

"Right," Wendy said, mustering her own self confidence.

"Umm, Lucy…" Wendy's voice quivered a few moments later.

I turned around since we were standing back-to-back and saw what had Wendy sounding so afraid. The mayor's house was only two houses up the street and the powerful presence appeared to be exiting his home.

"My, my, it looks like my plan worked out quite splendidly," the mystery man said as he walked down the street towards us.

"Mr. Dhell?" I asked, not believing that the kindly man was the dark presence now walking towards us.

"Not quite, you see when I put my plan in motion I chose that fool's body as my vessel. Those as weak as him are so easily manipulated to give up their own bodies," the man explained as he walked closer.

From this distance it was apparent to see that the man looked exactly the same as the mayor we talked to earlier but commanded an entirely different presence.

"But, I didn't sense any magical energy coming from the mayor when we met him earlier today," Wendy said disbelievingly.

"Well, that is part of my curse magic. I can only appear at night," the man explained, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Curse magic, like those demons from Tartaros?" Wendy asked feeling uneasy.

"You mean those creatures that prideful Zeref created, of course not," the man mused as if Zeref was only trivial to him. "My brother was the one who gave Zeref that little curse of his by the way."

"Wait! Your brother is Ankhseram?" I asked now feeling sick to my stomach.

The man chuckled. "There are a great many gods and devils. As for me, I haven't properly introduced myself. I must say that I chose this particular weakling's body for his name alone. Levi Dhell can be rearranged to spell Hell Devil. A bit on the nose I know, but there is very little enjoyment I get from humans so I felt affording myself this one small pleasure was suitable."

Wendy and I stayed rooted in our places out of fear.

"What on Earthland could a devil like you want with Fairy Tail wizards?" I asked with my curiosity sparking despite the fear I felt trembling throughout my body.

"Not just any old Fairy Tail wizard. I admit that when that blundering fool upgraded the mission to S-class that it almost ruined everything. The plan was to lure dragon slayers specifically or their mates. I know you are the ones who usually accept the more dangerous missions. Think of how happy I was to see a dragon slayer and a mate show up instead of an S-class wizard. It's just as I planned," the Devil grinned evilly.

"Dragon slayers and their mates?" I asked aloud, not ever hearing about mates before.

"No more talking, I feel as if I have satisfied your curiosity enough," the Devil said resolutely.

That was enough for Wendy and I to instigate our own measures against this man. Whoever he was, at the very least Fairy Tail had been employed to save this town and that was enough to stay and fight him. Wendy and I operated in sync with each other from all of the training we had done together. Wendy didn't mess around either and instantly tapped into her dragon force.

"Sky dragon—wing attack!" she shouted as she jumped into the air before landing the attack as intended.

I didn't wait for the dust to clear before I used my own magic and decidedly engaged my star dress as well.

"Open—gate of the Scorpion—SCORPIO!" I shouted.

My star dress turned into Scorpio's form, allowing me to enhance Scorpio's sand attack which was combined with Wendy's new breath attack. Similar to what Natsu had done on occasion, I anchored myself in the center of Scorpio and Wendy's dual attack to travel at top speed and landed multiple attacks on the Devil. I couldn't think about how scared I was of this opponent, only that we couldn't lose.

I felt more confident in my abilities and knew I landed each of my attacks on his body. I felt sorry for the mayor when he returned to his body the next morning but there was no way I could hinder my attacks against an enemy of this magnitude.

Before the dust settled again I turned to use the speed enhancement from my Scorpio form to return to where Wendy was standing. However, before I could bound off, I felt the enemy's hand clasp over mine.

"That was most impressive, even being able to land an attack on my body. However, as you may notice, your attacks had no effect," he stated simply.

I heard Wendy gasp and realised that I couldn't pry my hand from his.

"I have no intention on allowing this fight to last much longer. I need to bring you back with me before the curse wears off at sunrise," the Devil continued.

My thoughts were racing but there was no way I was going to accept defeat like this.

I swung my body around, bringing Leo's key up into my hand. "Open!" I started but the Devil's hand instead came up to cover my lips.

His touch shouldn't have been enough to stop me from opening Loki's gate but instead I noticed that his touch was also severely draining my magic power.

Once I was mostly drained, he dropped me to the ground and I could hear Wendy screaming from somewhere nearby. However, her screams were silenced when he uttered his own spell from above me.

"Curse magic—fear!" the Hell Devil whispered as I lay helpless on the ground beneath his feet..

I waited for some sort of intense pain, but instead was thrown into darkness. In the distance I could see a small source of light. It was odd since it felt like my energy had returned enough for me to stand up. I started running towards it, trying to figure out where I was. My brain felt foggy, and I realised I could no longer remember how exactly I had ended up here.

I was getting closer to the light source and stopped short when I saw where it was coming from.

"Natsu?" I asked, completely shocked to see the fire dragon slayer here.

Were we on a mission? I had no memory of how I had gotten here or where we were.

"Lucy—" Natsu returned in a steely voice.

It caused me to stop in my tracks. I had never seen him this angry at anyone who wasn't going against Fairy Tail.

"You abandoned Fairy Tail. How could you have betrayed me like that?" he said angrily.

His fists were ablaze with his fury.

"I didn't—I could never!" I started panicking.

I would never mean to let Fairy Tail down, let alone go against it.

"Lucy, how could you let us down?" I looked over to see Erza walking forward with Gray also at her side.

"We treated you as family, how could you deceive us like that?" Gray added with a disappointed grimace.

He moved into his maker stance. Erza had reequipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armour, fitting I guess to take out a celestial mage.

"Take it off," I heard another booming voice from behind my old team.

"Master?" I asked in a desperate voice.

I knew what he was asking and started to weep. Yukino had experienced this same fate at the hands of Saber Tooth's old master.

I looked down at the pink seal on my hand, pulling it up to my chest protectively.

"I would never betray you!" I screamed.

"You will take your own life as a punishment of your treachery," Master Makarov continued in his commanding voice.

It seemed he was ignoring my pleas.

I fell onto my knees, still holding my emblem into my chest.

"Stand-up Lucy!" I heard another voice call out from the distance.

"Wendy?" I asked, bringing my face to look into the angry stares of my guildmates.

"You're right, I have to stand up," I said, forming a small smile on my face.

"I would never lay down my life so easily. This is what you all taught me and I would never betray you like that! I AM A FAIRY TAIL WIZARD AND YOU ARE MY FAMILY!" I screamed with conviction.

"LUCY!" I heard Wendy again.

The darkness that had enveloped me was clearing and I could now see my partner running over towards me.

"You faced your fear? I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from the fire breather's mate," the Hell Devil pondered to himself.

He almost sounded as if he were impressed.

"He had you trapped in some sort of perception curse," Wendy explained, now at my side.

The devil was standing only a few paces away from us looking far too pleased with himself.

"Yea, that would explain it," I said, feeling that my magic was still nearly drained.

"It's interesting to discover that your mate is a part of your worst fear, Lucy Heartfilia," he added with acid in his voice.

"Why do you keep talking about this mate nonsense?" I asked, not understanding what he meant by it.

I had seen all of my guildmates in my vision, I was afraid of letting them all down.

"Lucy erm, it's a dragon slayer thing," Wendy whispered from beside me.

"Very good sky dragon slayer. It's nice to see that Grandeeney educated you on such matters before she abandoned you," the Hell Devil replied with an evil smirk crossing his face.

"That reminds me, I've put up with your trifling long enough," the devil's grin grew, sending a horrible feeling through me.

Wendy's expression mimicked how I was feeling. But, before we could comprehend what was happening, the devil cast a lacrima in front of us that showed an image.

It was Romeo and it looked like he was walking down a street in Magnolia.

"Romeo!" Wendy shrieked.

That sort of desperation in Wendy's voice sent out waves of agony. I could even feel a shift in the air around us.

Someone else came into view as we were stuck helpless watching Romeo on the lacrima. The younger fire mage didn't sense the shadowlike creature that was trailing behind him.

"You might not want to watch sky dragon," the devil said goadingly.

The shadow transformed into a spear like weapon with no wielder. But still its aim was true and pierced savagely into Romeo from behind.

"ROMEO!" Wendy screamed again in agony.

She was now on the ground clutching her stomach where Romeo had just been attacked.

I could see the blood pooling out of Romeo before the image disappeared.

"Now I don't need to cast a curse to trap her, she's already living her worst fear," the Hell Devil said maliciously while I looked onto my friend with intense worry.

Wendy was writing in pain although I couldn't see any physical injuries like Romeo.

Wait, did this mean that Romeo was Wendy's mate? Had Wendy known all along? Why didn't she tell me any of this sooner?

"Now it's your turn," the devil said as he used his magic to send me soaring through the air into his arms.

"You will be the key to everyone's undoing," he said in some sort of elated voice.

I felt sick to my stomach but didn't have the energy to vomit. I could see more darkness form around my vision, but this time it was probably because I was drained of all my magic power.

"I won't let you take my friend!" Wendy screamed at the Hell Devil, tears of determination flowing down her cheeks.

She had somehow gotten enough clarity to see that I had been taken.

"Wendy, it's okay. I know what I'm doing," I said quietly, taking the remainder of my strength to turn around to face my friend while still in the devil's hand.

"I can't let you!" Wendy said, feeling her own magic power diminishing.

"Wendy, listen to me. Let me protect you this time. I know that you'll find me. But we are out of options and I can't let him take you as well. Once you gather your strength, I know you will come and save me. Just let me go Wendy, I'll be alright. Go make sure Romeo is okay," I said, pushing back my own tears.

I didn't have any doubt Wendy could do it, we had trained so hard just for something like this. The last of my magic drained and I could see the darkness closing in. With one last sigh I went limp in the Hell Devil's hands, feeling as if all my training had been for nought. It seemed I was destined to be saved.


	10. Chapter 10

Laxus' P.O.V

"What the hell happened here?" Laxus exclaimed as their train stopped and he and Mira exited onto the small platform.

"Whatever was here left trace amounts of their magic but I think they're gone now," Mira replied as she followed Laxus off the train.

"Mira, you should go back," Laxus said without thinking, automatically feeling that he didn't want her anywhere near this place.

"What are you talking about? Master sent both of us all this way to bring Lucy and Wendy home, I'm not leaving you by yourself," Mira replied evenly.

_"By yourself…"_ Laxus thought about her words and realised that if she left now, that he didn't want her alone. Even if she were to only be on a train.

"Are you from Fairy Tail?" a man asked in a ragged voice as he jogged onto the platform.

Laxus turned, using his hand to push Mira behind him. The man appeared like he had just been in a fight since his clothes were dishevelled and even ripped in places.

"Yes, and who are you?" Laxus replied sternly.

He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling uneasy that this man seemed to already know too much since Gramps hadn't told anyone they were coming.

"Please, come quickly. I can't carry her and she needs help," the man pleaded before he turned around and headed off the platform.

"Hey! Old man, where the hell are you going?" Laxus called after him but Mira moved around Laxus and followed after where the man had disappeared.

"Mira don't go trusting this man so quickly, there's something now right here," Laxus said in an irritated tone.

"I don't trust him, but he said that there's a girl in trouble and we're here to help Lucy and Wendy. I fear that whatever we were sent to help them fight has already been here and that we're too late," Mira frowned before she pulled out of Laxus' grip and headed off the platform.

Laxus grunted before agreeing and followed closely behind Mira. It didn't take long walking down the crumbling gravel path that they saw the man hunched over something lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection Laxus could see that the figure was an unconscious body.

"Oh goodness!" Mira exclaimed before she ran towards the man and knelt beside the body.

"She's alive but she hasn't woken up in a few hours," the man explained worriedly.

"Tell me old man, what the hell happened here," Laxus said as he grabbed the man by the collar and raised him to look him in the eyes.

The man squirmed under Laxus' grip but bowed his head in consent. The man proceeded to tell Laxus everything that happened after the girls arrived, including their survey of the village and the fight that followed. The mayor didn't have any memories of it and Laxus looked around in concern when the man was finished talking.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked, realising that she hadn't come back yet.

"H—he—he took her," Wendy wheezed from his feet.

"You're awake!" Mira beamed as she took the bottle of water out of her bag and let Wendy sip from it.

"Wait, who the hell took her?" Laxus asked, wondering if it was whatever left this overwhelming amount of magic residue throughout the town.

"The Devil," Wendy grimaced as fresh tears formed in her eyes.

Mira consoled her and tried to get her to stand. Laxus agreed, they shouldn't stay there any longer and needed to at least get Wendy back to the guild.

"He left this," the man shook as he handed Laxus a letter from the inside of his jacket.

"A note?" Mira asked in surprise.

It wasn't typical that the bad guys ever left notes behind.

_Dear Fairy Tail,_

_This town is free from the Devil's curse since my plan has been carried out, so there is no further need for your services. As for the girl, I am keeping her as my prize. I truly enjoyed my time working with your guild and therefore heed you this warning. Keep your distance from the fire and sky dragons as they plunge into their darkness._

_HD_

"What the hell is this?" Laxus roared, turning to the mayor.

"The devil was using his body as a vessel to cross over into this world," Wendy managed to whisper.

"Wait.. what?!" the mayor exclaimed, looking as if he were about to pass out.

"We're leaving," Laxus announced having heard enough.

He then turned to lead Mira and Wendy back to the train station.

"But, what will I do?" the mayor called back sounding desperate.

"There's no one else here. I figure that Devil chased them all away, so get the hell outta here while you still can," Laxus called back without turning around.

Laxus was able to lead the two girls onto the next train that headed back to Magnolia. Wendy put up a fight since she kept crying about leaving Lucy behind but Laxus knew Lucy was no longer in town. Wherever this so called Devil was, they needed to regroup back at the guild before they did anything drastic. All Laxus wanted to do was go after Lucy since this Devil had decided to take one of their own but there was obviously something bigger at play going on. Mentioning Wendy and Natsu in that letter was also unnerving, especially when the guild had just learned about dragon mating themselves.

"Is she going to be alright?" Laxus asked, seeing that Wendy was passed out again and laying over Mira's lap.

Mira was stroking the young girl's hair which reminded Laxus somewhat of a mother holding a child. He shook his head, knowing this wasn't the time to lose focus of the task at hand.

"I gave her some medicine to put her to sleep. As worried as I am about Lucy, it's no good to see Wendy so upset. She's badly injured and needs to conserve her strength." Mira stated quietly. "Do you know what Wendy meant when she said a devil?"

Mira looked worriedly at Laxus who felt he was just as much in the dark about what was going on.

"I've been thinking about that too, and I have no idea. The faster we can get back to the guild the faster we can come up with a plan to get Lucy back. But I am concerned about the mention of Wendy and Natsu as well. Not bringing home Lucy is only going to increase Natsu's madness and I think we need everyone's cooperation to bring her home," Laxus said.

"Yes, I think you're right. We'll need to come up with a strategy with Master right away," Mira replied.

"Hey Mira?" Laxus asked, knowing he had to say what was on his mind if he was going to stay completely focused.

"Yes Laxus?' Mira replied in her kind voice.

"Until we get Lucy back, can you promise that you'll stick by me? Just promise you won't go off anywhere alone until this is all over," Laxus stated.

He knew he wasn't sounding completely logical, but his instincts were telling him that she needed to stay close until they found Lucy and everything returned back to normal.

Mira concentrated on Laxus for a moment before smiling.

"Alright. I'll stay by your side Laxus."


	11. Chapter 11

Gray's P.O.V

"All I see is her," Natsu said from his hospital bed in a bout of semi-consciousness.

"Well, that does make sense, seeing as she's your mate or whatever," I said, having still not left Natsu's bedside despite others coming to help with guard duty.

"No, I see her being murdered by Rogue's shadow," Natsu continued in a whispered voice.

I stayed silent. I hadn't been there during that particular battle after the Grand Magic Games, and my inner most self always felt thankful for that. How could I have ever witnessed Lucy dying in front of me? Juvia had once told me how she felt seeing me die saving her at the Dragon King Festival, and then again during the Alvarez incident. I remember waking up both times and feeling as though I had been reborn from the dead. In return, Juvia has watched me die in front of her twice. Hadn't Natsu experienced the same thing? But Lucy hadn't woken up that time. I had even told Juvia eventually that I felt something similar watching her getting turned into a constellation in the celestial world when we were up against the celestial spirit king and when she sacrificed herself for me. Finally giving Juvia her answer after Alvarez had been difficult, something I never felt ready to give. But, once I told her the truth, it seemed like it was long overdue.

"You know she's going to be alright," I said, not believing Lucy was truly gone despite the horrible visions Natsu had been seeing.

"I know that. I would never lose my faith in her. It's just my head. All I see is her dying in front of me. All I feel is her gone," Natsu said, sounding defeated.

I looked over to see that his eyes were still closed but that tears were falling down his cheeks. We were all assigned to look after Natsu as his madness kicked in. There was still no word about Lucy and Wendy from Laxus or Mira, but they should have arrived by now.

Gray couldn't think of anything constructive to tell Natsu as he clenched against the restraints tying him to the bed. However, Gray was spared coming up with something from a commotion outside the door. Gray stood up, feeling the exhaustion taking its toll on his body, so he hoped the guild wasn't under attack. Instead, the door barged open into the infirmary by Macao and Wakaba. Gray's gaze froze on the limp body Macao was carrying, his son Romeo.

"What happened?" Gray asked, hearing Natsu thrash around behind him.

"His dad found him in an alley bleeding out," Wakaba replied grimly.

"Someone attacked him and left him to die?" Gray asked, feeling angry and disgusted that someone would do that to one of his guildmates.

Porlyusica, Master Makarov and surprisingly Gajeel also followed the two men into the infirmary. Romeo grimaced as Macao set him onto a bed, but Gray felt thankful that the younger boy was still alive. Porlyusica wasted no time attending to Romeo's injuries while the other four men looked from the side in worry. Wakaba was holding Macao back so he would stay out of Porlyusica's way.

"It's because he's Wendy's mate," Gajeel grumbled after several minutes of watching Porlyusica work.

Gray remained by Natsu's side since he was obviously upset by Romeo's state and kept fighting against the magic-cancelling restraints.

"How can you be certain?" Master frowned at Gajeel, hesitant to believe such fatal attempts were being made against his children related to dragon slayer mating.

"Listen, I don't like it any better than you do, but I can smell it on him. Whatever hit him used really dark magic, not a typical knife or anything. And think about it, Bunny Girl could have come home at any point if we just called her back, but she and Wendy land themselves in one of the most dangerous jobs Fairy Tail has seen in a long time apart from Century Quests now that we need them to come home. We haven't heard from Laxus, who is also a dragon slayer by the way, and Natsu is worse than ever. If we look at things now, worst case scenario I'm the last dragon standing in Fairy Tail," Gajeel's grim words reverberated in the room that was only filled with cries of pain from Romeo and panic from Natsu.

"I hate to say it, but what Gajeel says is the most logical explanation. Whoever Lucy and Wendy faced on their job seems to be targeting dragon slayers. I have been in contact with Master Sting from Sabertooth, but he says there has been no odd situations there. They are on high alert, but this leads me to believe Fairy Tail is the target," Master surmised. "Gajeel, you must go bring Levy to the infirmary. None of the dragon slayers or their mates are to leave the guild until we figure all this out. We'll set everyone up in the infirmary, especially since two of them are already here out of necessity."

Gajeel grunted but nodded before he took his leave. Gray knew this wasn't a fair way for Gajeel to admit who is mate was, despite Master having already figured it out. But whoever they were going up against didn't leave much other choice.

"Gray, I'm asking you to continue keeping watch over Natsu, but we will have others keep guard as well. With this many dragon slayers in one place, it does create a vulnerability. But, I think it is much better than having everyone spread out and less protected. Hopefully, Laxus and Mira will bring the girls home by tomorrow and we won't have much to worry about, but we have to prepare for worse circumstances."

"How is Romeo?" Macao asked, watching as Porlyusica finally stood back from his son.

"He's stable for now, but he's not regaining unconsciousness. If I have to give my best opinion, I assume only Wendy can wake him up once she returns."

"Erm—" another voice interrupted as Gajeel pulled Levy into the infirmary before shutting the door behind them. "I think she will have to mark him."

"Mark him? What does that mean?" Gray asked, wondering if Natsu would even be able to mark Lucy if it meant that was the only thing to stop his madness.

"Well, I've been reading the book some more, and well it seems that in order for the mating ritual to be completed, the dragon has to mark their mate. Only then will the dragon's spirit be at peace and stop fighting against their human mind," Levy explained. "But, I think if it's done properly, it's quite an intimate ceremony between the two individuals. The fact that someone is out their disrupting the process with violence is unsettling to say the least."

Gajeel barred his teeth but continued to sit in silence. Natsu had finally given into his exhaustion and was now unconscious while Romeo remained still in his own bed.

"Romeo is only fourteen years old! You're saying he has to do some sort of ceremony that couples him with Wendy forever or he'll never wake up?" Macao asked angrily.

"Listen, this is not the situation any of us dragon slayers were picturing, and I'm sure Wendy won't be any keener about the situation. But know this, she will die for Romeo instead of allowing him to be unhappy or putting in danger," Gajeel barked irritably.

"Gajeel," Levy said softly, feeling empathetic towards him that he was also going through this and watching the others suffering.

"The first thing we need is for the girls to return before any more decisions are made. Porlyusica is keeping Romeo alive which is all that can be done for now. Gajeel, Levy, Natsu and Romeo are not to leave this room for any reason. I will bring news when I find out anything more. I will also send Erza and Cana up to help Gray with protecting the sick," Makarov frowned before he stood up and took his leave.

Gray scowled, praying that Laxus and the others returned soon. His exhaustion got the better of him though as he sat back into his chair and let himself doze off. Sometime later, he woke up and felt something warm around him. He peered his eyes open slightly to see Juvia was sitting beside him along with Erza. He assumed Juvia had wrapped him in the blanket and smiled that she always took care of him when he forgot to take care of himself.

"Gray is pushing himself too hard looking over Natsu like this," Juvia whispered worriedly.

"He feels helpless that this is all he can do for Natsu and the others," Erza replied knowingly. "He is lucky to have you look over him, he can be reckless with not taking care of himself sometimes."

"Oh, no. I am the lucky one to have someone so caring love me back," Juvia whispered.

I smiled at her words, not feeling as embarrassed as I used to over her outward affection. I let her soft words carry be back off to sleep before I woke up sometime later to the sounds of someone barging into the infirmary.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up feeling warm and revelled in it since it was better than the campsites Wendy and I slept in often over the last year. I felt as the warmth heated every part of my body from my feet to my forehead, and then I dared to think that I was waking up beside Natsu.

"Natsu," I went to reprimand him for breaking in but my voice came out in only a hoarse whisper.

My throat was dry and my eyes weren't opening as easily as they should. What was most unsettling however was that as soon as I said Natsu's name out loud the pit of my stomach started searing in pain. It was enough to get my eyes to open as I tried moving my hands to clutch my abdomen. That was when I realised my arms were restrained and the warmth I was feeling was originating from a completely different source than a warm body.

"Finally waking up?" an oddly familiar voice asked, causing goosebumps to appear on my body despite the intense heat.

I realised the reason I thought I had been waking up beside Natsu was because the heat was rather concentrated. But once I could see my surroundings I realised that the landscape around me mostly consisted of stone and fire.

"Where am I?" I croaked, hating how weak my voice sounded.

"I brought you to my home, or realm I guess is most accurate. As I said in my introduction, I'm a Hell Devil, otherwise named Nibathrirm, but you can call me Levi to keep things simple," the devil introduced himself, sounding the same as he did when Wendy and I fought against him.

However, his appearance was a stark contrast from the portly man we met as the mayor. He no longer looked human with his gray scaled skin, spiked tail and golden horns which mimicked the shape of a crown.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, refusing to give in to how vulnerable I knew I actually was.

"It isn't a terribly involved reason. But, I figure it is only hospitable if I tell you the story. Very well then, I have had a qualm with the dragons for centuries now, but the ploys made by the celestial wizards and dragons to forge the dragon slayers made it difficult to act. The most stifling reason was Ankhseram's prodigy and his soulmate. Employing my revenge was near impossible with them roaming Earthland for so long. However, when Fairy Tail defeated them and neutralized their threat, I knew it was my time. It worked out fortuitously that the guild that caught my attention just happened to have four dragon slayers in its midst. And I already knew that mating has always been the weakness of dragons and now that there are no more obstacles in my way, I can enact my revenge," Levi explained with a pleased grin.

"But, why the dragons? What could they have possibly done to a Hell Devil?" I asked, thinking that the dragons might not even be powerful enough to come onto this realm let alone slight it's sole resident.

"One dragon in particular grew powerful enough under the direction of the Fire Dragon King. He grew powerful enough when seeking an ultimate flame that he entered my realm and stole my fire to cover his body," I watched as his grin turned into a slighted grimace.

"Atlas Flame," I whispered, remembering the dragon that sided with the wizards during the Dragon King Festival and whom Natsu called uncle.

"Don't speak that forsaken name in front of me!" Levi spat, breaking his calmer façade to show his vengeful anger.

It only lasted a moment though before he composed himself again.

"How lucky I am Lucy Heartfilia, that your journey to get stronger landed you in my path to take down the dragon's legacy. And not only that, but you are the mate of the Fire Dragon King's son. The sky dragon was also easily enough incapacitated by using my shadows to take out her mate. But don't worry, I have a plan so you won't be alone much longer," Levi commented in an eerily reassuring tone.

"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail for stopping you! Wendy will have gotten help and they'll come and get me!" I retorted fiercely but Levi only smugly grinned in return.

"Fairy Tail has never faced a true enemy such as a devil, only a minion of one and you barely came out in one piece. Fairy Tail has no chance facing against me, especially since I have already nullified several heavy hitters. I saw what happened after Tenrou, your guild faded from existence until it was only a pitiful group of broken individuals. People still depend too heavily on the dragons even though they've been gone from existence for centuries," Levi reasoned. "And deep down, you're too ashamed to be rescued again."

I squirmed under his observant gaze, knowing he was right in his assumption. I had set out on this journey with Wendy to be able to walk back in the guild feeling accomplished and worthy to be a part of Fairy Tail's strongest team. Now, I was shackled on the ground in another realm, having been defeated so easily by this non-human. Wendy herself had only been left alone since Levi already accomplished his goal by attacking Romeo. If Levi was telling the truth, Wendy wouldn't be able to fight and Romeo is at the very least gravely injured or worse.

I swallowed loudly, refusing to believe the worst case scenario for the both of them. I could only guess what happened to the dragon slayers when their mates were killed and I didn't think it included surviving.

"Do you want to know the rest of my plan? I am a gracious host and don't mind filling you in on everything. I have already captured you and there is no way out without my authority. So I might as well tell you. The slayers of Fairy Tail couldn't have given me a better situation to work with. Soon, I will capture the lightning slayer's mate easier than I took you," he smiled proudly.

"You can't capture a Fairy Tail wizard as easily as you caught me," I whispered, feeling my self-doubt increase.

"I can if their soul is already bound to my realm," he sneered.

I thought for a moment and then gasped.

"Mirajane."

"That's right. All those years ago when the demon soul bound to her own, connected her directly with the hell dimension. Therefore, I can summon her here at my convenience. Most times a devil would not concern themselves with human matters and she would have otherwise been left alone. But, how perfect it was to see the lightning dragon slayer imprint on the very Fairy Tail mage I can control. I am only waiting for the most opportune moment to summon her to have the most impact," he grinned maliciously. "As for the last slayer, would you like to see Natsu Dragneel?" Levi asked.

The mention of Natsu's name sent another wave of nausea through my body and I couldn't deny the pulling I felt to see him, despite all of my reservations.

"Yes, the yearning is quite severe isn't it? This is my present to you Lucy Heartfilia, a direct line to your slayer," he said before moving his hands and summoning an orb out of black smoke.

His clawed fingers moved more delicately around the translucent orb that fluttered into a clearer picture after several moments. I could feel my heart thrashing in my chest as the image sharpened and I noticed Natsu laying unconscious on an infirmary bed. Gray and Juvia were sitting on either side of him, looking like they were having an easy conversation. I pulled against my restraints, wanting to inch closer to the image, seeming like I couldn't control my actions when it came to Natsu.

I settled for staring intensely at his weak body before the image suddenly turned. This new image was still in the infirmary but now Gajeel was the person showing.

"Why did it change?" I asked, hating how desperate I sounded to see Natsu.

But the image only watched Gajeel for a few moments before I noticed it gradually turn to look down at a book. I then realised this mustn't be a shadow like the image produced of Romeo. This image was being generated from someone's vision, and I already knew who it was.

"Levy?" I whispered, feeling sick that her body was somehow being used in this ploy.

"Yes, just as I took over that mayor's body, I have forged a connection with Levy McGarden, the perfect person for the last part of my plan. Not only is she the mate of the iron dragon slayer, your guild master has also congregated all the mates and slayers into one room. I couldn't have asked for a better situation," he sniggered wickedly.

"You won't succeed in this!" I shouted back at him, keeping my faith in my guild despite the lengths this devil had gone through.

"Relax Miss. Heartfilia. My plan is only beginning and Miss. Strauss will be joining us shortly. Just watch the screen and enjoy seeing it all unfold," he stated before leaving the orb in front of me, but just out of reach.

Then he took his leave, probably to go and execute his plan for Mira which made me convulse with nausea and fear. I hated to admit it but attacking one-by-one like this was proving affective, and I didn't know how Fairy Tail was going to rally to succeed against these other attacks. The primal thoughts and emotions running through my head seemed to be altering my perception to only Natsu and getting back to him. I eventually let my turmoil wear me down until I fell asleep, hoping next time I would wake up out of this nightmare.


	13. Chapter 13

Laxus's POV

Laxus carried Wendy in his arms as he and Mirajane walked into the guildhall from the train station. They arrived early that morning and went directly to the guild since it seemed Wendy's condition worsened on the train, so much so that she hadn't even been aware of the train to become motion sick. Laxus kept himself together the best he could since he couldn't let himself depend on Mirajane to watch them both throughout the night. Mira also kept her promise and stayed by Laxus's side without any complaint or hesitation.

"Hey Mira!" Lisanna was the first to notice her sister's arrival but her smile disappeared as soon as her eyes landed on Wendy's limp body in Laxus's arms.

"What happened?" Elfman came forward, his voice causing everyone else to look up and come over to see what had happened.

"WENDY!" a frantic Carla came bolting through the air looking hysterical.

Laxus let the exceed fly in front of him as she got a closer look at the sky dragon slayer but Laxus still kept Wendy wrapped up in his arms. He was waiting for Gramps to appear and wouldn't let go until his orders were made.

"Laxus, bring her up here to the infirmary," Makarov appeared at the top of the stairs looking pale at the sight of Wendy.

Laxus obliged and followed him into the infirmary which was more packed than usual. Levy and Gajeel were sitting off in the corner with Lily, looking like some sort of ragtag family. Laxus hated to admit that the feeling inside of him might be reminiscent of jealousy with how easy they were making it look to just sit together like that. On the other side of the room Gray was sitting looking thoroughly exhausted but looked in good shape compared to Natsu who was sleeping in the bed in front of him.

Porlyusica directed Laxus to a vacant bed off to the side and that's when he finally noticed the young boy Romeo also passed out on a bed looking worse for wear. Laxus suppressed his snarl of frustration by how ragged his guild looked but he didn't want to stir Wendy who felt fragile in his arms.

He gently laid her down and Porlyusica wasted no time in getting to work. Laxus felt Mira standing just inside the doorway which helped keep him in check rather than speaking his mind like usual.

"Wait, where the hell is Lucy?" Gray asked as he looked between Laxus and Mira.

It was dawning on the guild now that Lucy hadn't been brought back. When Laxus and Mira were sent to retrieve the girls, no one considered the possibility that someone might not come back.

"Lucy?" Natsu suddenly stirred awake and Gray internally reprimanded himself for being so careless around Natsu.

Although Gray was growing more impatient and worried by the second that Lucy wasn't walking through the door of the infirmary, everyone knew it wasn't good to alert Natsu of such a situation.

Natsu sniffed the air instinctually and found that there were more people in the room than normal.

"Wendy's back… Laxus and Mira brought Wendy back," Laxus watched the elated expression on Natsu's face and hated knowing it was about to disappear. "But where's Lucy?"

"Laxus, what happened?" his grandfather interrupted in an exasperated voice.

Laxus hated thinking what Makarov must have been putting up with in his absence with Natsu and the others. Laxus also hated that he obviously let his grandfather down and things were presumably about to get even worse now. Even if he knew there was nothing he could have done since Lucy was apparently in another realm, he felt he had failed the guild by coming back from an incomplete mission.

"Well, the little one was the only person who actually knows what happened. We showed up in the morning like we were supposed to, but they had fought that—that thing the night before," Laxus growled at the word thing since he still wasn't sure what all this talk about a devil meant. Laxus handed the note he was given by the mayor over to Gramps who frowned while reading it.

"Who is this HD person?" Makarov barked impatiently after finishing the short letter.

"We don't know Master," Mira interjected. "Wendy only called him The Devil."

The entire room went pin drop quiet before it was torn through by Natsu's howling. Gray immediately jumped on top of him to restrain him but Natsu took his renewed energy to claw at Gray and tried to buck him off. Erza had since entered the room after seeing Laxus and Mira return, so she immediately went to help Gray in his efforts. Thankfully Porlyusica had a sedative ready and took advantage of Erza's assistance to hold Natsu down. After a bit more thrashing, Natsu passed out again but everyone stared at him, waiting for him to rally.

However Natsu stayed asleep while it set in for everyone else that Lucy really wasn't coming home.

"So, you're telling us that she was gone when you showed up?" Gray asked in a grudging tone.

"When we arrived, only the pipsqueak was there, already passed out from battle," Carla gasped hearing that Wendy was in such bad shape when they arrived.

"So, what does this mean for Lucy?" Erza asked, wanting to hear Master's plan to proceed immediately.

Everyone was agreeing that a plan needed to be made while others complained that no one knew where to start.

"Laxus," Mira's sweet voice somehow cut through the rising panic.

Laxus immediately looked up at the woman he felt wholly drawn to and deadpanned at the resolute expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like I can't keep my promise right now," Mira stated gently.

She didn't look scared but was being honest as she felt something violent tugging inside her. Something she knew was connected to one of the many demon souls living inside her.

Laxus watched in horror as Mira's silhouette started to fade, starting with her fingertips and then up until only a shadow was left behind before disappearing all together.

Laxus's primal roar reverberated through the infirmary and down into the guildhall. Everyone else froze, it now completely apparent that Mira was Laxus's mate if there was any previous doubt. Also that somehow Fairy Tail was being stealthily infiltrated and taken down one-by-one. The number of occupied beds and now two disappearances spoke volumes of how truly vulnerable Fairy Tail was to this enemy.

"The question you should be asking yourselves is what does this mean for Fairy Tail?" Levy's voice rose above Laxus's growling which was uncharacteristic for the usually gentle-natured solid-script mage.

"Levy?" Gajeel glared into the eyes of the woman he loved and only saw a stranger looking out of them.

"That's all the slayers now, and you are the last one Gajeel Redfox."


	14. Chapter 14

I didn't remember falling asleep but was shocked awake at the sudden calling out of my name. The voice was shrill and filled with worry but I was only too happy to look up at see a member of Fairy Tail.

"Mira?" my throat was dry which made my voice sound all scratchy.

"Oh my gosh, Lucy!" Mira wasn't restrained like me and came over until she threw herself over me and brought me to her chest.

I was curled up on the ground, still in front of the lacrima, and had brought my head up to look at Mira upon hearing her. Now, Mira was knelt down beside me and I was reminded that this was never a place I wanted one of my guildmates to find me.

"I'm so happy I found you," her voice was a sweet and genuine as ever, causing me to flinch that now it seemed that someone had come to rescue me.

But I was saved from saying anything when the man who had self proclaimed himself as a devil entered the room. His presence caused the intensity of the flames to heighten from the peripheries of the cave like room, but neither Mira nor myself bothered to react. I could only assume being around Natsu so much had made me immune to some sorts of flames while Mira must be doubly immune to devil-like tricks.

At the thought of Natsu again, I tightened my grip on Mira's shoulders to stifle the rippling pain in my stomach. If I had eaten anything since the train ride with Wendy I would have doubled over and puked. Still, I felt the acidic bile climb my throat and burn as I swallowed it back down.

"I welcome you, Mirajane Strauss, to my pit of hell. Please call me Levi Dhell, since Nibathrirm is such a mouth full to say. I am sure you will feel right at home here as your souls feel the pull towards this darkness," Levi's mouth curled into a greedy grin that would have upset my stomach if it wasn't already roiling.

But Mirajane stood firm and met Levi's gaze coolly.

"What do you want with the dragon slayers of Fairy Tail?" she asked, sounding like Fairy Tail's official diplomat. But I could still hear her cold tone that seemed appropriate when talking to an actual devil of Hell.

"Laxus did well with one so feisty, but I can only be too pleased that your souls technically belong to me and therefore I will take the humanity of the mate of the Lightning Dragon Slayer," Mira's frown deepened but hearing of being Laxus's mate didn't seem to surprise her as much as it did me.

I had only just briefly found out about mates from Wendy before I was pulled unwillingly into this realm. I figured the burning in my body had something to do with Natsu. I also saw through the lacrima that Natsu seemed to be fairing just as badly and I wasn't delusional enough to think that this situation and pain wouldn't continue to increase as time went on. It seemed now that Wendy's season theory might have some merit and this pain would only intensify as winter progressed; I hated to think what would happen if we made it into spring.

"I thought you were just upset with fire dragons since Atlas Flame took your fire from this very pit," I goaded him, not caring if I faced anymore wrath from this devil if it meant Mira was spared.

"I told you never to speak that disgusting creature's name in front of me," Levi spat and once again his crisp façade was broken.

He took another moment before recomposing himself and Mira looked down at me with pity since I still hadn't stood up.

"Lucy don't provoke him," Mira said quietly as if she might somehow already have a plan.

Again I felt like a pathetic fool that Mira had been here for less than five minutes and was already more ready and capable than I was.

"It may be true that Natsu is my main objective. He is the most suitable to take my heed in his uncle's place. But I must admit that being dormant for so long from the human world has made me restless. Happening upon Fairy Tail who happens to have four dragon slayers is only too tempting not to take advantage of. While the fire brat's mate is here only to watch him go insane through a lacrima, the lightning dragon's mate will fall into her own devil's core. The sky dragon will remain too weak and overwhelmed to be able to heal her mate before he succumbs to my darkness and finally the iron slayer will eventually rip the evil out of his mate that I have planted inside of her. Using her as a vessel to communicate will drive them both to her sacrifice and I will finally have my satisfaction for being slighted all those years ago," as ever Levi was most gracious in divulging his master plan but still I felt useless to do anything. Fairy Tail was losing to the darkness and all I felt were the vicious stabbing pains in my chest and stomach.

"Well, it seems I am to stay here and wait for my mind to turn dark. If you don't mind, can I have some tea?" Mira asked almost sweetly, in the same eerie hospitality that Levi was using.

"Of course she-devil. I am not above my hosting responsibilities. It has truly been a long time since I entertained like this," I was utterly shocked that Levi agreed and then disappeared through the crevice in the wall he had come from when Mira arrived.

The moment he left Mira bent down and pulled me to my feet despite the fact that I much preferred being on the ground.

"Lucy, I have to tell you something," Mira whispered urgently, confirming she was more prepared than me.

"What is it?" I asked, not letting my own insecurities screw up our chances of getting out of here.

"Levi was able to summon me here because of my demon particles, right? So what if we were to combine our magic to get us out of here?" Mirajane suggested eagerly and I wondered how she had come up with something so quickly.

"What do you mean? I don't have my keys and even if I did they open to the celestial spirit world. That's kind of opposite to the Hell dimension," I already felt my confidence disheartening.

"Well, you open the celestial realm using a celestial core right? The core is stored in the key right?" Mira continued.

"Yes, that's correct," I confirmed.

"What if I were to give you one of my demon souls to use as a core?" Mirajane offered, finally giving way to her plan.

"What?! How would that even be possible?" I had never before contemplated ever making a key, much less one that didn't open to the Celestial world.

"Well, I absorb demon souls to use, I've since figured out how to expel them as well. It's difficult, and I can't expel the original she-devil, but I can give you one of my souls nonetheless," Mira explained.

"Mira, that would put you at a lot of risk and it might not even work," I said worriedly.

"I know the risk, and I'm willing to do it. I have faith in you that it'll work and you can open a door for us," Mira smiled.

Quickly, she pulled out an ordinary house key from her pocket and wrapped her fist tightly around it.

"We don't have much time until he returns so as soon as I open my hand, take this key and go back to Fairy Tail. That's where I was when I was taken so it should bring you back to the infirmary. Tell everyone what happened and give Laxus the key. Since I'm using a devil soul it should allow someone to come back and get me. I'm staying to make sure this Levi person doesn't get away or do something worse. I can take it and then Laxus can come get me. Trust me, he won't let anyone else come and I did break my promise," I didn't really know what she was fully talking about but nodded.

Tears stung my eyes at the idea of trading places with Mira and leaving her here, but I figured that her she-devil form might be our best bet to take this guy out. And I needed to go back and get someone much more capable to return. My self-loathing rose up again but I didn't dare foil Mira's ingenious plan.

When she saw me nod Mira closed her eyes and squinted down as her fist clenched tightly. Despite the already overwhelming amount of magical energy in the room, Mira's magic coursed like a live wire through the air. A blue light emitted from the cracks between her fingers before she fell to her knees and opened her palm.

The once ordinary house key looked reminiscent of one of my own keys, but more sinister like it would open an abandon castle or crypt.

I took it without question since I knew the devil could come back any second. Mira looked exhausted and I hated to leave her like this to receive the impact of Levi's wrath but I wouldn't let her efforts be in vain.

"Open: gate of the she-devil!" it was weird that the words came to me without even thinking and Mira smiled up at me as I felt myself being sucked through a portal, much like the times Virgo brought me through into the Celestial world.

The next moment, I chanced opening my eyes, scared that it hadn't worked. But this time my name came out of a familiar male's voice. "Lucy?"

My eyes flew open and I looked at his expression as he looked at me with surprise, shock and horror. I figured I must look terrible after living in the wilderness for three seasons and then facing off against a devil only to become his prisoner.

"Gray?"


	15. Chapter 15

"LUCY!" my name was screamed when Natsu suddenly started thrashing in his hospital bed.

I could tell he smelled me which seemed to have been what woke him from his drug-induced sleep.

"Oh Mavis, did I do this to him?" I asked Gray since he was the one who had stood up when I appeared in the middle of Fairy Tail's infirmary.

It didn't take very long from appearing in the guild to Natsu waking up to fill everyone in on the situation and to hatch a plan. Apparently Fairy Tail had done their homework on dragon mates and knew more about it than I did. But I couldn't deny the fact that my stomach had stopped its fiery pain now that I was in proximity of Natsu.

The shackles around his wrists and ankles looked like they were starting to give under his sheer determination but I leaned forward instead and draped myself over his body.

"I'm sorry Natsu, I didn't want to make you suffer like this," I cried into his chest and felt my tears begin to fall.

Again he fought against the restraints but I wasn't scared like a lot of the other guild members looked. Whatever had happened since I left the guild, I knew Natsu would never hurt me.

"LET ME OUT OF THESE DAMN THINGS!" he roared louder, still trying to get free.

"Come on, he won't hurt her," Gray stepped in and took the keys from Erza who had been standing on the other side of Natsu with a fire resistant sword aimed at him.

The moment Gray released the restraints from his arms, Natsu sat up looking dizzy and disoriented. But Gray had filled me in that Natsu's mind had been deteriorating, just like Levi had told me.

I stayed sitting on the bed and felt as Natsu wrapped his arms around me, and I was tempted to give in despite the reasons I had left in the first place and the fact that I needed to set our plan into motion.

I did take a moment to bury my head into his chest before I pried myself from his grip and stood up. I saw the look of hurt and confusion on Natsu's face and knew he had been unconscious for the duration of the guild's planning.

"Natsu, let her go. We have a plan and your crazy is going to have to wait," Laxus growled from the other side of the room but Natsu growled right back in response.

But I was already walking towards the pair of slayers who were all ready to go. Wendy was still unconscious from when Laxus and Mirajane had brought her back from our job.

Apparently, she was still too young to feel the full effects of the mating process, but watching Romeo get attacked had taken its toll. Plus, the younger fire mage was still lying in the next bed over recovering from his attack.

"What the hell is going on?" Natsu demanded, pushing himself out of bed and onto his feet.

Even I was surprised by his strength since I knew he had been bedridden for quite a while. But his look of determination was the same as always and suddenly I felt like the last year hadn't happened. Natsu was still the force I always knew him to be and here I was letting others fight my own battles.

"Lucy opened a door to get back here to Earthland using a key from one of Mira's demon souls. So now she's going to reopen it and send the dragon slayers to the hell dimension to bring Mirajane back," Erza answered, having the most patience to explain the situation to Natsu who was only just regaining his awareness.

"I'm a dragon slayer! If this is the guy who took Lucy, then I'm going too!" Natsu eagerly stepped forward to stand with Laxus and Gajeel.

The iron dragon slayer was angrier than usual and growling under his breath like he was impatient to get going. Usually Natsu would have said something to set him off, but I could tell there was an unspoken pact between them that this was bigger than themselves. Plus, Levy was already locked downstairs in the basement since she was still possessed and Gajeel hadn't been holding up very well since that happened. The iron dragon slayer wanted blood, same as the lightning dragon slayer who was setting out to bring his mate back.

I had tears in my eyes as I came forward and held out the cryptic key.

"OPEN: gate of the she-devil!" I shouted and watched as a black portal appeared and all three dragon slayers stepped through without another word.

Once Natsu stepped through, being the last one, I fell to my knees and cried. I felt all of my futility and humiliation rise up that I was staying behind while Natsu and the others went out to fight for me again. I had been too weak to save Mira or to stop the devil from hurting Levy. All the dragon slayers were in trouble but they still went forward into battle anyways. And all I could do was wait like always, holding my breath to see if everyone would come home safe.

"He'll be alright," Gray appeared beside me and laid a tentative hand on my shoulder.

I caved into him, causing him to put his arms over me as I cried into his chest. I had missed Gray and the rest of my team that Wendy and I had left behind. We didn't have the most normal relationship but we were all family nonetheless.

"I know, but I couldn't save them. I couldn't save any of them!" my angry tears drowned out whatever comforting words Gray offered in response.

We stayed like that as the minutes dragged on. I kept the channel open so that the four of them would be able to get back. The plan was that if the devil got through then the rest of us here would head him off. But the longer time passed, I knew my magic energy was waning. They needed to hurry up or they would be left in hell and the saviour mission would turn into another rescue mission.


	16. Chapter 16

"It's alright Lucy, you can close it now," Natsu appeared in front of me and I realised that I was barely holding onto consciousness in Gray's arms.

I opened my eyes and saw that Mira was being helped into a bed by Laxus, but both looked fine considering they had just went up against a hell devil.

"What happened?" I croaked, wondering if Gajeel was already downstairs attending to Levy; that was probably the case.

"Mira had it pretty covered by the time we arrived but we helped take him down for good. I can't believe this was all because of my uncle Atlas! Did you know that Luce?" Natsu's voice sounded like it always did after a battle, excited and satisfied.

But this stirred the same insecurities that had led me to leaving in the first place.

"So what, everyone is just fine now? Fairy Tail is saved by the mighty Natsu Dragneel and I'm supposed to be your doting mate because you saved me?" my sarcasm turned to anger and I saw Natsu's post-fight high flush from his face.

"N-no of course not. Lucy, I wasn't even the one who took him down, it was mostly Mira and Laxus. Plus, you were the one who forged the key and got everyone help. Asking for help isn't weak, we're your family," Natsu's voice dropped into a sort of quiet pleading.

But the silence drew out between the two of us until there was a glint in Natsu's eye. I could tell by his frown that whatever this thought was, it wasn't Natsu's typical happy-go-lucky philosophy.

"Ok Lucy, I have a proposition," Natsu said, staring me in the eyes as he drew his gaze to mine.

"What is it Natsu?" I asked hesitantly, feeling my anger slide into unease.

"We fight, right here right now," Natsu explained in a dead serious voice.

"What are you talking about Natsu?" I replied, worried that he had finally lost his mind.

Didn't Gray say that was one of the side effects. I didn't want Natsu losing his mind, but that also didn't mean I had to become his mate.

"I mean it Lucy. All I want in this world is you, but I would never want that if you didn't feel the same. And I can't convince you if you feel like I'm stronger and that you always need saving. So, here is my proposition. If I win, I get to keep pursuing you and hope that one day you will accept me as your mate. Like I said, I will never force you, but I will never stop trying so long as I live. But, if you win, then I will walk away and accept my fate of never being with you. This way, each of us won't hold back for trying to win," Natsu explained in a despairing voice.

It was strange since Natsu typically proposed fighting with a large grin on his face. All I could do was stare at him, feeling turmoil build up inside me.

"Natsu, we can't…" I started to say but went silent once I saw Natsu's hands become engulfed in flames.

"I'm not asking this Lucy," Natsu said as I watched his eyes turn from sad to determined.

I had seen this similar look hundreds of times before, but there was something else. A sort of desperate ferocity that I had never seen before shone in his eyes.

Without another word Natsu lifted me to my feet and led the both of us downstairs and outside the guild. It was more forethought that Natsu had ever given to any other fight, but this fight was different in its own right. Natsu didn't want Erza interfering or Gramps calling it off. This was a fight for their future and no one could come between that.

Once they were both outside, Natsu whirled around and the fight started without any further prompting.

"FIRE DRAGON—ROOAARR!" Natsu shouted without hesitation.

Normally, I probably would have frozen in fear or stepped aside, but all those months with Wendy had honed my instincts and prepared me for any surprises.

"OPEN, GATE OF THE MAIDEN—VIRGO!" I yelled, drawing my golden key.

"Yes princess?" Virgo asked in an instant.

"Get me out of the way!" I screamed.

Instantly, Virgo had me in her arms and we were burrowing through the ground. Moments later we popped up out of Natsu's range.

"Scared Lucy? I thought you always started any battle with that bull guy," Natsu said, his fighting cockiness coming out, although he still didn't have his trademark smirk.

"I'm just warming up Natsu and I don't fight by any pattern anymore. I adapt to my surroundings. Right now, I'm facing a cocky dragon slayer who I have to beat," I said with a steely look.

Natsu's eyes wavered, probably not used to me being so serious or reserved. Maybe he would change his mind about wanting me as a mate, I wasn't the girl from Team Natsu any longer.

"OPEN, GATE OF THE RAM— ARIES!" I yelled before he could recover from my comment.

"Hi Miss. Lucy, I'm sorry I'm late," Aries whispered in her soft voice.

"Hi Aries, camouflage please?" I asked politely.

I always made sure to treat Aries with the utmost respect since she was always the most timid of all my spirits. Even in the most important battles I made sure never to take advantage of my spirits.

"Of course, Lucy. I hope I can help," Aries answered, filling the field with her signature pink clouds.

"Thank-you Aries!" I replied to the ram spirit in a whispered voice.

Aries nodded, knowing the strategy I was employing and disappeared back to the spirit realm.

I made my move and heard as Natsu responded just as I knew he would.

"FIRE DRAGON—WING ATTACK!" Natsu bellowed, jumping into the air before bringing down his fire wings.

His fire attack swept away all the pink clouds. I knew Natsu was feeling good about himself.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, standing back down on the ground and looking at the spot where he had landed his attack.

Maybe the idiot thought he had vaporised me or something, I know other foes had fallen for it.

"Luc—" Natsu said.

I could hear the fear in his voice.

"Fleuve é'toile!" I shouted from my place behind him.

I knew his attack and then subsequent confusion would dampen his typically heightened senses.

My whip was now wrapped around Natsu's waist. I used this placement to pull Natsu around and slam him into the ground.

"OPEN, GATE OF THE GOLDEN BULL—TAURUS!" I yelled, taking advantage of Natsu's brief immobilisation.

"Hello Luucy! You're looking beauutiful all heated in battle!" Taurus greeted with his usual inappropriate comment.

"Go get him, Taurus!" I ordered, not even acknowledging his comment.

I usually didn't let Taurus get away with anything, but I also didn't have time to engage him in this type of battle, when the stakes were so high against this level opponent.

"Of course, Miss. Luucy! Anything for you!" Taurus responded, gearing up with his large war axe.

Natsu had already untangled himself from my whip and was standing, readying himself for Taurus' attack.

"FIRE DRAGON—CLAW ATTACK!" Natsu countered, landing his attack on Taurus.

"I'm sorry Miss. Luucy! I'm all caught up in flames," Taurus said, clearly winded from the attack.

"It's okay Taurus, thank-you for your help!" I replied, already with my next move ready.

"OPEN—GATES OF THE LION, THE GOAT AND THE TWINS!" I shouted.

"Hello Lady Lucy, how may I serve you?" Capricorn greeted in his usual formal manner.

"Lucy! Long time no see!" Leo added, looking at me with his usual intense stare.

"Capricorn, Leo. Go get him!" I said in my steely voice.

"Of course, Lady Lucy," Capricorn said with a nod before going after Natsu.

"You're fighting Natsu?" Leo asked, turning to look at my opponent.

"Just go after him, please," I repeated, keeping any waver from my voice.

Leo stared at me for a moment longer until he realised Capricorn was already engaged in battle. He gave me a small nod before going to join the fray.

"Piri-piri," Gemini both greeted.

"I have another request for you, Gemini," I said determinedly.

They both looked excited, already knowing why I had called them.

"Loki!" I heard Natsu yell.

I felt a moment of regret, pinning the two men against one another.

I knew Loki was a celestial spirit, obviously being Leo. But, that didn't change the fact that he was also a Fairy Tail wizard and was also Natsu's guildmate.

But I snapped out of my hesitation since I knew Capricorn and Leo were both only buying me some time to carry out my next move.

"Our big finale!" I exclaimed quietly and Gemini nodded in understanding.

On the road, I had perfected my big move with Gemini, getting comfortable with expelling such a large amount of magic energy. But now I could do it and Natsu was expelling a lot of his own energy by fighting my top two fighters.

"UNISON RAID!" Gemini and I clasped hands, Gemini looking like a mirror image of myself.

I didn't give Natsu a chance to face me and the attack hit just as he turned around. He must have heard my attack coming but Leo and Capricorn didn't let up until the spell hit Natsu. All three of my spirits disappeared at once since I had spent most of my magic energy by this point. I didn't miss Leo's saddened expression when he disappeared but I only concentrated to see how Natsu would react next.

But several minutes passed and Natsu stayed keeled over.

"That's it? I won?" I asked, not believing that I could have actually done it.

"Looks like it," Natsu replied, still lying on the ground in defeat.

"You let me win!" I accused him, feeling my anger rise up.

I heard Natsu let out a sigh. "I just lost my mate Lucy, why would I have let you win?"

I could hear the frustration in his voice.

"You're a dragon slayer. You adapt your powers to your opponent! You could have beat me!" I shouted, my anger boiling over now.

"Lucy, do you remember when you told me that you had faith in me from the very first time we met?" Natsu asked in a softened voice.

"Yea, during the Grand Magic Games," I replied, feeling thrown off by his sudden comment.

"The day I met you in Hargeon, my life changed forever. I met my partner, my best friend—and later I figured out that I met my mate. From that very first moment I put all of my faith in you. I always tried to save you because I didn't ever want to risk losing you. But I came to realise that you needed to be able to take care of yourself. But don't you realise, I can't be better or adapt enough to win a battle without you by my side. I could never dream of winning a fight against you, when you're looking at me like an opponent," he admitted in final defeat.

I could feel the fresh tears rolling down my cheeks, unable to voice any of the thoughts running through my head.

"You are the bravest person I have ever met. We have conquered hundreds of enemies side-by-side, and when you left—it broke my heart. I know I don't have any right saying that, I know I left you first, but that was a mistake. And now—" his voice cracked, "I have to learn to live without you permanently."

I dropped to my knees, my tears pooling in front of me. My vision was too blurry to see anything clearly, but I knew Natsu was still lying on the ground. I guess his magic power hadn't returned yet.

I stood up finally, using the last of my strength to guide my feet to the form that was Natsu's limp body. I dropped to the ground again once I was beside him. I knew my knees were scraped, but I couldn't feel any pain other than the pain that radiated through me internally.

"Natsu," I whispered, pulling his head into my lap.

"Lucy?" he asked surprised.

I tipped my head up towards the sky, feeling the last of my stubbornness let go in a final sigh that escaped my lips.

"I don't want to live my life without you!" I said with conviction rising through me.

All the feelings I had been too afraid to face came rising up with a force.

"But—you said you didn't want to be my mate. Lucy, I can never stop the way I feel about you. Every part of me loves you and I will carry that until the day I die, probably long after that as well," Natsu said weakly.

I started sobbing and pulled Natsu up so that I could wrap my arms around him. He must have felt some of his strength returning since he was now able to sit up and pulled me closer into him. I felt his own tears fall onto the top of my head as I buried my face into his chest.

"I lied Natsu. I had to prove to myself that I belonged to Fairy Tail, that I could earn my rank on our team, that I—" I paused, feeling the immensity of my own feelings, "that I deserved to be your mate!"

Of course, I hadn't consciously known at least that I was Natsu's mate when I left on my journey with Wendy, but I had known deep down that I loved him. According to Wendy 'it had been obvious'.

I heard Natsu's breath suck in, and then he held it. I waited several painstaking moments for his reaction. Then, he pulled himself away from me and used his arms to position me so that I was looking into his eyes.

"How could you ever think you weren't good enough for Fairy Tail? How could you think—" his breath hitched again as another few tears rolled down his face, "that you weren't enough for me?"

"Because I needed to be strong for myself, without those things," I replied honestly.

Of course, I had carried the love I felt for my guild with me all throughout my excursion, but Wendy and I had agreed beforehand that we each had something to prove to our inner turmoil. We had never 'liked' fighting like Gray and Natsu seemed to, but we agreed we had to get over our hesitation to stand up for ourselves. To fight like Erza, for the sanctity of Fairy Tail and everything it stands for.

"Will you love me, Lucy?" Natsu asked in a soft voice filled with anxiety.

I looked into his eyes and saw how terrified he was. I didn't know how much of the madness had set in and it pained me to know that I had caused him such misery.

"I have always loved you, Natsu," I replied, feeling the turmoil I had held for so long dissipate from my body.

Natsu's eyes widened in utter disbelief, but he didn't pause long enough for me to gauge his reaction. A moment later he had both of his strong arms around me, pulling me into his body again. His lips crashed into mine like I was his life source. At first, I sat there in shock, but quickly fed into his intensity with my own wanting. His lips were warm and moved over mine more expertly than I would have imagined. I could feel his slight desperation, especially when his tongue ran across my lips and needlessly forced them apart. His tongue inside my mouth explored every corner and I felt the audible moan rise up from my throat. My body heated up from his warmth but also from my own need to feel him touch my skin and hold me. It wasn't until I felt like I was going to choke that I finally pulled away and gasped for air.

I looked into his eyes and saw that the intensity that had been there before was ebbing away. I still felt myself catching my breath when Natsu pulled his arms away but raised one hand to my chin. This touch was much softer than before and I sighed from his carefulness. He leaned in again and this time he was more gentle, but still firm. His heated lips formed over my own and moved delicately across them until he grazed his teeth across my bottom lip and nipped it. This in turn led him to let out a low growl which sent shivers through my body.

I pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"So, are you going to stay?" Natsu's question held a lot of questions depending on my answer.

I thought back to Wendy and Romeo healing in the beds upstairs, both looking worse ofr wear. Hopefully, with Wendy returned to the guild their proximity would help with the process like I had felt being reunited with Natsu. Laxus would make sure Mira rested until she was back to normal and with Levi gone for good, I'm sure Levy would be herself again.

But in the wake of this whole adventure, I could feel that my family needed me. And I was finally confident enough to accept that as not being the weaker option.

"I'll stay. No more running away," I nodded and Natsu all but lit up beside me.

"I love you, Lucy," Natsu breathed as he leaned in for another kiss and my breath hitched at the realisation of what he was saying.

I nodded into his kiss and let my actions speak for me.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed," I said when I finally pulled away.

Natsu's eyes widened a moment later when I managed to lift him and helped him back to the guild since he had spent all his magic energy. I had gotten stronger alongside Wendy, and I was eager to show it off to my new mate and the rest of Fairy Tail.

Wendy and I had set off to find our strength and courage; to feel worthy to wear our guildmarks. But it was coming home that finally let that sink in. I would always be a member of Fairy Tail, and now also Natsu's mate. But I was also still me despite those things, and that had been what I was looking for; it only took going to hell and back to figure that out.


End file.
